Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26452
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I’m pretty sure that this is a Shamus puzzle – it is a pangram which is becoming a trademark of his. It also has a mini-theme, with no less than four male names clued as representatives of European countries. However, I’m willing to bet that the clue attracting most criticism will be 23a, which is the name of a cricketer who was very famous in his day – but his day was a long time ago! Let us have a comment (on 23a or anything else).
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26446
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I don’t know the name of the setter today, but he or she has given us an entertaining puzzle which is not too difficult (although the 17a term was new to me) with a fair number of clues relating to alcohol. Let us know what you thought of it in a comment.
If you need to see an answer just drag your cursor through the white space between the curly brackets under the relevant clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26440
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
I suspect, but don’t know, that it’s Shamus today. I enjoyed it – how about you? Let us know what you thought in a comment!
If you need to see an answer just highlight the space between the curly brackets under the clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26434
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
We have an entertaining but fairly gentle puzzle today from an unknown setter. Let’s hope that Mr, Mrs or Ms X unmasks himself or herself in a comment. [update – No comment so far from Mr X, but Rufus (see comment #21) has identified him as Anthony Plumb who sets crosswords in the FT under the name Flimsy].
To see an answer highlight the space between the curly brackets under the clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26429
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Apologies for the late posting, which was due to my loss of broadband for about 90 minutes. This appears to be a puzzle by Ray T, doing a bit of moonlighting from his new Thursday patch. Whoever it is has given us a whole host of double-entendres in what I thought was an amusing and entertaining puzzle. Give us your views in a comment!
To reveal an answer just drag your cursor through the space between the curly brackets under the clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26423
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Several of the clues (e.g. 14d, 17d, 22d) today seemed familiar, so much so that at one stage I wondered whether I’d done the whole puzzle before. I’d never heard of 9a, but by the time I’d got the checking letters it was fairly obvious. So, not very taxing and pretty straightforward – let us know in a comment whether you agree or not!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26417
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
Today’s puzzle is pretty straightforward with nothing too difficult or exciting (but we did have our fill of excitement in the early hours with a famous victory in Adelaide!). Let us know what you thought in a comment.
If you’re struggling to get an answer just highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26411
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I was quite unimpressed with this puzzle when I solved it, but I began to like it a bit better when I wrote the review. Let us know your opinion in a comment!
Just highlight the space between the curly brackets under the clue if you want to see an answer.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26405
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A pleasant puzzle today, with an outstanding clue at 1a. Let us know what you thought in a comment.
To see an answer just highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26399
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
I don’t know who the setter is today – the puzzle has the feel of a refugee from the wasteland that was once Thursday’s province. I’ve noticed before that the first clue you solve sets the tone for the whole puzzle – today the first answer I put in was 1a and, as far as I was concerned, the puzzle never recovered. Am I being unfair? Or am I being unduly generous in giving it two stars for enjoyment? Let me know your views in a comment!
If you want to see an answer drag your cursor through the space between the brackets under the relevant clue.
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