Thursday – Page 11 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Category: Thursday

Currently Thursday does not appear to have a regular setter, although since Autumn 2010 Ray T features frequently. During 2009 almost all of the Thursday puzzles were set by Jay.

DT 30933

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30933
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

We are back from our week in the Highlands and I would again like to thank Huntsman for standing in for me at short notice last Thursday.  It was much appreciated.

There is no doubt that this is the work of RayT, as all of his usual hallmarks are there.  He has excelled himself on brevity this week, averaging a fraction below 5. I think this is the first time on my watch that he has dipped below the 5 words/clue barrier.  Quite remarkable.

My podium clues are 24a, 8d and 14d.  I found the puzzle about right for a Thursday in terms of difficulty.  What did you think?

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Many thanks to our setter and the DT Crossword Team.

Continue reading “DT 30933”

Toughie 3479

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3479 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

This is a very entertaining and not too tricky puzzle from the prolific Silvanus.  Many thanks to him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3479”

Toughie 3471

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3471 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***

We have a typical Beam puzzle today. Thanks to him.

One thing we can be sure of with Beam is that his puzzles won’t leak on to a second page of printout.
Continue reading “Toughie 3471”

DT 30915

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30915
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Sorry, but it is me again, as I sneak ever closer to Huntsman in the race to 100 blogs.  According to the stats on the Meet the Blogger section of this wonderful site, today will bring me level with him at 95 blogs each. Please don’t tell him though, as I might try to sneak another extra blog in during May to pip him at the post!

A beautiful morning here in sunny Hertfordshire and I believe most of the country is blessed with similar weather.  A day in the garden beckons as soon as I have finished this.

I enjoyed the puzzle today, which seemed to be pitched at about the right level for a Thursday.  It is definitely not RayT and something tells me that it is not Silvanus either. That leaves me bereft of ideas for Guess the Setter, so over to you, dear solver.  Ticks from me for the anagram at 1a, the spoonerism at 2d (light blue touch paper and retire) and the Rhine swimmer at 4d.

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Many thanks to our setter and the DT Crossword Team.

Continue reading “DT 30915”

DT 30909

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30909
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

No prizes for “Guess the Setter” today – most of the hallmarks of RayT are in evidence, including sweetheart at 3d (although he is again teasing us on this one), single word solutions and brevity of clueing in the Cryptic and single word clues and solutions in the Quickie.  Don’t waste one of your hard-earned loonies on this one, Senf.

If my arithmetic is correct, Ray has used just one word too many to average five words per clue.  Surely we can find just one disposable word in this puzzle…?

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Many thanks to our setter and the DT Crossword Team.

Continue reading “DT 30909”

DT 30903

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30903
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

I don’t know about you, but I found this quite tricky, requiring my full attention throughout.  That is not a bad thing, of course, particularly on a Thursday and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.  Perhaps the slightly unfriendly grid didn’t help, but more likely I was just being a bit slow to unravel some beautifully written clues.

Much to my granddaughter’s disgust, I had never heard of the film franchise at 2d, but the answer was gettable without this knowledge.  The England cricketer at 17d of course posed no issues to this sportsman (retired!).  For once, I will opt for the Spoonerism at 21a as my CoD – very amusing!

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Thank you, setter for a very decent challenge.

Continue reading “DT 30903”