Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Excalibur is Nuala Considine. She was, until early 2009, the setter for the Sunday Telegraph.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
Welcome, fellow grid-fillers. It was lovely to see some of you at York over the weekend – and to those who have yet to attend one of the get-togethers, do let me recommend these friendly gatherings. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Happy October, crossword chums. I hope you are warm and dry. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Hi everybody, and welcome to the Kittyland menagerie, where Auntie Kitty is 21a. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Ah, Tuesdays: the Mondays of the Toughie week. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings, crossword chums! This was another mystery solve for me, but it didn’t take long to work out the setter: few are so distinctive. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***/****
Another quirky puzzle from Excalibur and another one that I enjoyed.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Excalibur is the setter that polarises opinion more than any other and I dare say that I may have been critical of one or two of her puzzles in the past.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **
I did this late last night in a tired and distracted state, which may explain both ratings. As always, a quirky puzzle from Excalibur with a mix of fun and bamboozlement. Apologies for the lack of images but I haven’t been able to upload them today for some reason.
Continue reading “Toughie 1556”
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***/****
A surreal treat from Excalibur: no fewer than 16 definition clues (cryptic, straight-plus-cryptic, or double-straight), a playful parallelism, and a shapely trio. Plus the obligatory Yoda-isms (but only two, despite the Space Invaders motif in the grid). Continue reading “Toughie 1540”
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **/***
Welcome to the Toughie week. Excalibur’s latest puzzle felt tough for a Tuesday, and while it certainly wasn’t dull, I did think one or two of the clues were the wrong sort of difficult. Still, I look forward to her next one.