Toughie No 733 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This is only the second Messinae puzzle that I have blogged. I gave 4* for difficulty to the last one which was unusual because bloggers usually only give Messinae puzzles 2* for difficulty. This one was 2* at most and I might have been tempted to give it 1* had I not had to think a little about the last couple of answers. So once again we have a Toughie that is anything but tough.
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Toughie No 707 by Messinae
The Devil is in the details
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Although this Toughie was easier than it’s back-page partner, I found it to be considerably more enjoyable.
Continue reading “Toughie 707”
Toughie No 683 by Messinae
Easy Solving
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Messinae entertains us today with a fairly easy but enjoyable puzzle.
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Toughie No 663 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
I didn’t find this as easy as Prolixic suggested elsewhere – it was more of a steady slog and would have merited four stars for difficulty had it been on the back page.
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Toughie No 615 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Although not too difficult (for me it took less time than today’s back-page puzzle), this was very enjoyable.
Continue reading “Toughie 615”
Toughie No 559 by Messinae
Warpaint!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
This and some other recent Messinae Toughies have been considerably tougher than his earlier puzzles. The enjoyment level was let down by some pretty awful surface readings – I leave you to work out to which clues I am referring!.
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Toughie No 527 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This pleasant puzzle is the first from Messinae since last November – welcome back. It took me around the same time to complete as the regular cryptic (and not much longer than today’s Quick crossword!).
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Toughie No 461 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
I found this harder than average. There are a few answers that might be unfamiliar to some but it was a perfectly fair puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 461”
Toughie No 443 by Messinae
An easy start to the Toughie week
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I started this half an hour before the start of the CluedUp maintenance with thoughts of what would happen if I didn’t finish in time – I didn’t need to worry!
Continue reading “Toughie 443”
Toughie No 423 by Messinae
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Messinae tends to produce puzzles at the easy end of the Toughie spectrum, and this one is no exception. It is, however, very enjoyable to solve.
Continue reading “Toughie 423”