Toughie No 871 by Dada
Sweets for my Sweet
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
It’s always a pleasure to have a Dada puzzle on Tuesday, even though this one is not as difficult as those by his Guardian alter-ego.
Category: Dada
Dada is John Halpern, who also sets as Paul in The Guardian
Toughie 855
Toughie No 855 by Dada
Battle of Words
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Those who follow his puzzles in the Guardian would probably regard this as Paul Lite – easier to solve but still laced with his wicked humour.
Toughie 835
Toughie No 835 by Dada
Many a slip
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
This week it’s my turn to review a Dada puzzle. Not as ferocious as some of his Guardian puzzles (as Paul), but still a pleasure to solve. A possible five-star rating was spoiled by what appear to be a couple of howlers.
Toughie 817
Toughie No 817 by Dada
Hints and tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very nice puzzle even though it was not very difficult and caused no significant problems.
Toughie 804
Toughie No 804 by Dada
One hump or two?
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Those of us who regularly follow Dada wearing his other hats know that he can be quite a bit tougher than this one, which is fairly gentle (for him). It’s still very enjoyable, though, with a fair supply of d’oh moments.
Let us know how you got on and please take the time to record your assessment of the puzzle by clicking on one of the stars below,
Toughie 793
Toughie No 793 by Dada
Hints and tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
I thought that this was a nice puzzle even though I didn’t find it very challenging. It looked as though I was on for a record time when I filled the bottom half in extremely quickly, with only 24 down needing pause for thought. I slowed down on the top half but encountered no major difficulty. There are a lot of good clues with more ‘double definitions’ than usual
Toughie 775
Toughie No 775 by Dada
Hello Mudda, Hello Dada
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Dada on a Tuesday? Yes. But it’s not as ferocious as some of the Paul puzzles from the same setter, but just as enjoyable.
Toughie 759
Toughie No 759 by Dada
Yellow-bellied and dilapidated!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
To date Dada’s Toughies have appeared on Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday in that order. Today completes the second cycle, and what a wonderful puzzle this is. I’m yet to be convinced about 14 across, but there is much to enjoy among the rest of the clues, with the blue highlighter being liberally used.
Toughie 744
Toughie No 744 by Dada
Lots of Good Material
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Over the past six Wednesdays I’ve had Toughies from Notabilis, Elkamere (twice), Osmosis, Micawber and Elgar to blog. Impossible to keep up that standard, I thought, but today sees the return, after a long absence, of the wonderful Dada (whom you may know better as Paul, Mudd or Punk from other publications). This is really great stuff but not too difficult – if I have one criticism it’s that the grid is very “cornery” so that it’s essentially four mini-puzzles.
Tell us what you thought and please take the time to record your enjoyment factor by clicking on one of the stars below.
Toughie 645
Toughie No 645 by Dada
Hints and tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
When I started I thought this was going provide a struggle. In fact I found it very straightforward but, just in case I was having a good morning and was on the setter’s wavelength, I have left the difficulty rating at 3* after toying with 2*