Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Giovanni is Don Manley, who is also known as Duck, Pasquale, Quixote, and Bradman (all punningly connected with the name Don or Donald), and is the current Friday setter
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
We have an entertaining puzzle from Giovanni, probably not too difficult if (like me) you can remember the 1950s. Let us know how you got on with it.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
My 100th blog for Big Dave features a Giovanni puzzle that was enjoyable to do though not very difficult. Even the pairs of unchecked letters in many of the down answers didn’t cause any significant problems (except perhaps for 1 down where the answer is a word that was new to me).
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
I thought that this was a fairly standard Toughie from Giovanni, with perhaps a higher than usual contribution of names (both mythical and real) and places. Let us know how you fared.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This was definitely a puzzle of two halves as far as I was concerned. I breezed through the bottom half with no problems whatsoever and it looked as though I was on the way to a very fast time. Then I got totally becalmed on the top half and had to fight for every single answer. In the end my time was way above average. So thanks to Giovanni for the challenge. It was most enjoyable.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **
What could have been a very enjoyable puzzle was spoiled, for me, by the inclusion of a Japanese city that rightly belongs in a General Knowledge puzzle. The majority of the clues were up to the usual high standard that we expect from Giovanni.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This was trickier than your average Giovanni Toughie (but maybe not as tricky as the back page puzzle). It was an enjoyable puzzle and, as always with a Giovanni puzzle, the clues were perfectly fair. I did waste time trying to justify a couple of incorrect answers but eventually saw the light and inserted the correct answers.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
I have complained in the past that some of Giovanni’s Toughies would be better suited to the back page. Not this one! This was, in my opinion, his best for a long time. A number of lesser-known words and one of those anagrams that is indicated by part of the answer – all conspire to make this a lot harder than the usual Tuesday fare.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
In terms of difficulty I think that this is pretty much spot on for a Wednesday Toughie, i.e. it makes you think but it’s not mind-blowingly tricky. I enjoyed the tussle with it (and it’s also a pangram).
Let us know how you liked it and please take the time to click on one of the stars below to record your assessment of the puzzle.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
An enjoyable puzzle from Giovanni that caused me no major problems. That now makes eight Thursday Toughies in succession that I have described as non-too-taxing, fairly gentle, benign, very straightforward, etc. I’ll run out of synonyms if this run continues
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
Last Friday’s outstanding Toughie from Notabilis was a hard act to follow. Today we have a puzzle that is only marginally more difficult than a typical back-page offering and my blue highlighter wasn’t required. On a positive note, it is better than the last Giovanni puzzle that I reviewed.