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 very enjoyable Toughie with some excellent and amusing clues. Some of the wordplay is tricky and it’s a good idea to claw your way into it by picking off an easy clue (like 24d) or an obvious anagram (like 27a) first, in order to get as many checking letters as possible before you start on the harder clues.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
It has been long established that the Telegraph, with occasional exceptions, used the same setter each week for any given day. Recently it has been obvious that this no longer applies – I cannot believe that this puzzle was from the same source as last week’s travesty. This one is not only easier than a week ago, but much more enjoyable.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
An enjoyable puzzle that could just as easily been a normal daily cryptic. Some slightly tricky wordplay on a couple of clues pushed it from two star difficulty into three. This would make a good puzzle to start on if you usually struggle with the Toughies.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
This is a decent, solid puzzle which left me feeling just slightly disappointed because there are no really witty clues to make me laugh. Am I being over-critical and expecting too much? What do you think? – leave us a comment!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
The usual amiable start from the Monday Maestro with the usual smattering of cryptic definitions and clever wordplay. Lots of double definition clues today. I have to say that I feel that a couple of the cryptic definitions are not as strong as usual and seem a bit forced.
As usual, the “blank bits” between the curly brackets will give you the solution if you highlight it.
I would also welcome your comments, plaudits or brickbats below..
Continue reading “DT 25937”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
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, 29th May.
Some hints to get you started:
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Thursday, 28th May.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *
After yesterday’s brilliant Toughie we come down to earth with a bump today. This is the 151st Toughie and I’ve done nearly all of them, and this is my least favourite of the lot. There are a few nice clues but these are overwhelmed by many with poor wordplay and/or surface reading.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Another relatively tricky Friday crossword. With a mixed bag of clues, some good some bad.
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