Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2556
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Solved on the way to the pub meeting with Brian Greer and various setters and solvers – the first of a batch of puzzles on the train journey. Very little scribble on the copy so anything I say after this is added after I write the explanations below.
It’s the usual – a couple of those all-in-ones he just can’t stop producing, and a good mixture of answers, elegantly clued. No epic hidden word so I’ll expect one at least 13 letters long next week.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2555
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
This report will appear a couple of days before I meet Brian Greer for the first time since my first win in the Times Crossword Championship in 2000, which marked the end of his reign as crossword editor and the beginning of Mike Laws’s short spell in the job. So I’m pretty well guaranteed to be nice about this one.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2554
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
I mislaid my original copy with timing, so not sure of my difficulty rating – maybe 4 stars rather than 3 by Sunday puzzle standards. Now that I’ve re-solved the puzzle and written up the clues, well up to standard – no epic hidden word, but three all-in-ones, two old queens and lots of other entertainment.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2553
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
This was a very easy puzzle for me – apart from the beginning of an indecipherable jotting for 7A, presumably interrupted by spotting the answer or deciding to move on, my copy has no writing other than the completed grid and the timing. Part of the easiness probably came from the two long answers which are old crossword favourites. The clues include some of BG’s lively twists on cryptic wordplay, and as usual they make good sense in both the cryptic and surface readings.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2552
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
No &lits/all-in-ones today, but a few clues of particular kinds that we expect from this setter.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2551
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A fairly swift report today, as I’ve just realised I need to blog today’s Times elsewhere. Big Dave and I can both make Brian’s requested gathering on 3rd October, and we’re on the case for pub selection. I found this relatively tricky overall, mainly because 5D kept me busy for a shocking 4 minutes at the end.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2550
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
A very easy puzzle for me this one. Big Dave discourages bragging about solving times, so I’ll just say that in minutes and seconds this was exactly as quick for me as the Times crossword of 24th August, the quickest for me in several months if not a year or more. So in the same spirit as Craig Revel Horwood of Strictly Come Dancing, who sees no point in having a board with a 1 on it if he’s never going to use it, this gets one star for difficulty. I was going to knock off an enjoyment star on the basis that nothing this easy can be worth 5, but changed my mind when I got to 3D.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2549
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very easy one for me, partly because I saw through 1A quickly.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2548
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A bit harder than usual for me – this one took almost exactly my average time for a Times crossword. That’s not supposed to happen when there are 3 hidden word clues, but I did start rather badly …
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2547
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A bit trickier than some Sundays. As I start to write this I’ve forgotten the puzzle experience and didn’t write anything about it on my copy – just the wordplay structures. More after I’ve written these up below (so to speak).
First thought: good solid grid – he says after only having to set up 14 numbers each for acrosses and downs. Those 14-letter answers in the middle hold it all together very well. Not much more to say after writing up the clues – “just” another easy but very classy Sunday puzzle.
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