Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Hints and tips for completing Daily Telegraph Cryptic crosswords
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
No real problems with this one. I was a bit slow in finishing off the top left-hand corner but I put that down to the brain not functioning fully following a hard day at Uttoxeter races yesterday.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Afternoon All!. After last weeks shenanigans we have a pretty non-controversial puzzle that still manages to entertain whilst making one think.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
This week’s mystery setter has given us a puzzle that I can think of little to say about, so that’s what I’ll do.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Zut alors! Bearing in mind the date Busman has donned a beret and lit up a Gauloises to give a Gallic motif to today’s puzzle. I suspect that solvers will either love it or hate it. I found it enjoyable as a one-off (though the theme does impose restrictions), so full marks and merci beaucoup to Monsieur Busman for trying something different.
A large number of the clues refer to 18, which is 18d. If I tried to write all the hints for these clues without disclosing what 18d is it would be laborious to write and tedious to read, and since I can’t believe that anyone has got this far without knowing the theme, I’m going to use “French” in the hints rather than constantly referring to “the language of the person defined in 18d”.
Were you enchanted or irritated by it? Let us know in a comment!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
A harder puzzle this week from Jay but, apart from 13a, all the answers should be in the average person’s vocabulary. I came down on the side of four stars for difficulty, rather than three, largely because of this one clue, although I had remembered the answer from a very old Toughie (No 162).
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Having worked out that Mynot’s latest project is to work through the Classical Elements, and Earth and Air having already been covered, I was expecting either Fire or Water and it turned out to be the former. I have highlighted the main clues with a thematic answer in green. Although all three Fire signs of the Zodiac are all present, two of them appear in modern form.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ***
I would like to thank Gazza for stepping into the breach yesterday after the various power cuts I experienced. But in repayment, I get to blog this Shamus crossword (a first time for me). First off all, the crossword is a pangram, but although this crossword is a good workmanlike effort, nothing really stands out for me. We also have a bit of a cornery grid, and I thought the cryptic definitions were a bit weak.
If you cannot work out the answer from the hint, highlight the space between the curly brackets.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I was on the point of retreating to the garden (it’s another beautiful day in Devon) when Libellule contacted me to say that he’s lost power and can’t get on-line. So I’ve written this in a bit of a rush (that’s my excuse if you find any errors!).
I thought that this was a bit trickier than the usual Rufus puzzle, with some nice clues. Leave us a comment telling us if you agree or not, and please remember to grade it by clicking on one of the stars below.
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For the second week running we have a topical theme! As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.
Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Friday, 16th July.
A fine puzzle by Radler for a hot Saturday afternoon. There were some looser definitions but this did not detract from the enjoyment of the challenge.
There is a theme to the puzzle indicated by 14d / 24d. I did wonder about sampling each of the theme words but tried 20a first and could not be bothered with the rest!
If you try hard enough, you can also link 17a, 12a and 17d in to the general theme. I shall leave this as a gentle exercise for the reader!