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 **
This is a workmanlike puzzle which should not cause too much aggravation. When starting out with a blank grid it’s always nice to find a few clues that offer you an easy “way in”, and we have several here such as 12a, 24a and 5d.
As usual the answers are inside the curly brackets – just select the white space inside the brackets to reveal them.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This is another good Toughie which is not as difficult as some, but is full of well-constructed and entertaining clues.
As Big Dave mentioned in his Toughie review last Friday, we are changing our approach to the Toughie reviews slightly, on the basis that solvers at this level do not need to have every nook and cranny of the wordplay explained. You’ll notice that for some of the more complicated clues I’ve still explained the wordplay in full, whereas for others I’ve just given general hints. I should really appreciate getting feedback as to whether I’ve got the blend right or not. If there is anything that needs further explanation please mention it in a comment and I’ll try to expand on it.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
What a good week this is turning out to be. Today we have a first class puzzle with some of the best surface reading that I have seen in a daily cryptic for some time. One or two minor quibbles where that surface reading gets in the way of the accuracy of the clue, but when you get quality like this who cares!
Following recent discussions on the difficulty rating I have increased this from two stars to three to compensate for clues like 18 down which, while making us oldies smile, will no doubt cause problems for the younger solvers
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Some setters appear more often than others on the Toughies and Campbell, known elsewhere as Ascot, is certainly one I would like to see more often. On my usual scale this rated only three stars for difficulty, but I have increased it to four to compensate for some lucky guesses on 1, 15 and 27 across and 9, 14 and 16 down!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
After last Tuesday’s disappointing puzzle it is good to get a really solid one with some excellent surface readings. In terms of difficulty I would rate this half way between a standard cryptic and a Toughie, so newcomers should not be discouraged if they cannot finish it without assistance.
As usual the answers can be revealed, if required, by selecting the white space between the curly brackets.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another Monday and here’s our regular setter to entertain us. A pleasant enough solve with not to much to cause stress. Just the thing to help you clear the Monday morning blues.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Our Sunday setter shows once more how to compile a good crossword. An all round enjoyable puzzle, with some excellent surface reading.
For the weekend prize crosswords I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 19th June.
Some hints to get you started:
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A good puzzle which, for me, was spoilt by the return of the dreaded place names. Just to make things worse, three of the four are interlinked. As I have previously remarked, if I want a General Knowledge crossword I will do the Telegraph’s excellent Giant GK puzzle. To me it’s a lazy way of filling the grid, and I always have more respect for setters that avoid them.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Thursday, 18th June.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A bit harder than in recent weeks, but an excellent puzzle. Continue reading “ST 2487 – Review”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
How I look forward to alternate Fridays! It took me quite a while to get into the CluedUp site this morning, but it was well worth the wait. The hardest thing about Elgar’s puzzles is not finding the answers (which is difficult at the best of times) but getting a full resolution of the wordplay.