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
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***
A fairly challenging puzzle for a Tuesday with not too many easy “ins” apart from the fairly obvious clue down the spine of the grid.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This was a typical Giovanni puzzle with some straightforward clues and some unfamiliar words.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
This was on the easier side for a Giovanni Toughie with only one word (1a) that I didn’t know.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A rock solid puzzle with a fair bit of sparkle. I found it a pleasure to solve.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Toro is busy with work today so I get to review the first Toughie of the week in which some of the clues brought back some nice memories of my Dad. … Continue reading
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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ****
How on earth I failed to guess this was a Giovanni I do not know! Perhaps I was too busy enjoying some very deft cluemanship to notice the Judaeo-Christian references piling up. Quite challenging for a Tuesday puzzle too, I thought, or was it just that failing to spot that there was an anagram in one corner held me up. Let's hear what you think.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
I prefer Toughies with complex wordplay to those with many obscure words and no less than five of the answers today were words that I didn’t know.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
I sailed through this and only the time spent getting the last couple lifted it above one star for difficulty.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *
Giovanni offers us a Pangram today, though the combination of unusual words and ultra-loose definitions made it hard for me to enjoy this puzzle as much as I did last Friday’s.… Continue reading
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ****
Another high-quality Tuesday puzzle from the Don to which this rather hurried set of hints doesn't really do justice.