Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Hints and tips for completing Sunday Telegraph Cryptic crosswords
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Afternoon All!. This week we had a slightly more difficult puzzle from Virgilius but as usual it had some very witty clues and the trademark hidden words and cheeky constructions. Continue reading “ST 2576”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Morning All!. This is my first review of one of my favourite setters. I found this slightly easier than many Virgilius puzzles although it still contained many of his trademarks – well disguised hidden words and some cheeky wordplay that makes you think (e.g. 22a).
Continue reading “ST 2575”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
This was the perfect cryptic for a busy Sunday – didn’t take too long to solve but the wordplay was very enjoyable. There was a little muttering about a ‘chestnut’ but I prefer to think of such clues as old friends and I am not sure there actually were any this time. Thanks to Virgilius once again for another Sunday morning treat.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
As I said to Gnomethang, we are going to have terrible trouble reviewing Sunday Prize Puzzles as Virgilius gives us such wonderful entertaining clues that we are going to run out of superlatives. Today’s puzzle was no exception – it had a theme, a variety of wonderful clues and was enjoyed by all.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Another Sunday treat from Virgilius – a super mix of clues from the straightforward to the very deceptive; so thanks once again to the Sunday Supremo for an excellent, enjoyable brain stretching workout.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Being a relative newcomer to the world of the Sunday Telegraph Cryptic, it always takes me quite a few clues to get into the mind of Virgilius. As usual, it was well worth the effort as this was a great crossword which seemed to be enjoyed by all on the day.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
It’s been an interesting process reviewing this crossword some 5 days after solving it – not least because Mr CS had recycled the paper! A bit of a rummage through a heap of papers led me to rediscover that this didn’t take me long to solve; what took the time was working out the wordplay – what Prolixic referred to as a ‘thinking’ crossword – hence the 2.5* for difficulty. Thanks to Virgilius – I did enjoy both the solving and the revisiting for the review writing.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The usual entertaining challenge from our Sunday Supremo.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Hi everyone
I’ve volunteered to take on blogging the Sunday puzzle, so barring trips to you-know-where, I’ll be here to review this excellent Sunday Telegraph challenge each week.
Thanks to Peter Biddlecombe for his sterling work in this slot and I wish him every success in his new role. He is an absolutely perfect choice for the post. I’m sure a few of his rivals for the Times Crossword Championship will also be pleased that he will presumably no longer be taking part as a result.
Back to the puzzle. This was published on Boxing Day and obviously had an extended deadline, because of the holidays. It was a fine tonic after the mind stretching of Elgar’s Christmas Day Enigmatic Toughie, although I have a minor grumble.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Christmas is always special in crossword land, but your Sunday setter has excelled himself here. The central 15-letter answer is “A Christmas Carol”, and there’s other material about 3 different Christmas Carols – Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Good King Wenceslas, and the Dickens book of the same name. And there’s heaps of other Christmas material too – 12 answers by my reckoning. Two things to wonder about: If a puzzle referring to a carol with the words “on the feast of Stephen” was printed on the 19th of December, what’s on the 26th? And if next week’s puzzle is Christmas-related, will he have anything left for next year?
A very Merry Christmas to all readers, bloggers and setters from me – as well as from everyone else here.