Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Myops is John McKie who also sets the Wee Stinker in the Glasgow Herald
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Tilsit is away this weekend on a jolly. As many of you know, Myops is one of my favourite Toughie setters, so I looked forward to this puzzle with eager anticipation. And what a joy it turned out to be.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Tilsit’s continuing sojourn in rainy Scotland gave us the chance to blog this excellent Toughie. A very nice mix of clues, including a couple of easily-gettable Scottish references as one might expect from one of Antony’s favourite setters.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Tilsit is still in hospital waiting patiently for his operation so he has handed the baton to me.
It’s always a pleasure to review a Myops Toughie as you get the chance to enjoy it twice over. The blue highlighter is out in force today!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
I thought that this was a fairly tough tussle for a Wednesday but it was one that I enjoyed battling through, although a few of the clues do seem a bit “clunky”. There’s a theme running through the puzzle relating to a nursery rhyme dealing with the dangers involved in trying to circumvent the hosepipe ban.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from the Calder Valley. Sorry for the lateness today, I’ve been at the hospital and only just got home. We have Myops today with a puzzle that wasn’t as ferocious as his last one, but still a stern test, especially if like me you didn’t have access to a dictionary to check one or two things. Lots of anagrams (including compound ones) and clever cryptic definitions feature today. Have to admit I still struggle to get on his wavelength and this probably affects my enjoyment of the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *****2 – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from the Calder Valley! Time to renew acquaintance with our Scottish setter Myops. Today is not so much a Wee Stinker (his other regular crossword) as a *&*&^^^%! Stinker, in fact probably the Toughest of the Toughie puzzles series. This was a ferocious beast that took an awful long time to crack and I suspect this is not going to please most solvers. There are some cracking clues, but the use of a great many obscure words with obscure definitions add to the solver’s woe. Normally when I have been wrestling with Elgar or Osmosis, I have a feeling of satisfaction but that didn’t seem there today. Thanks to Crypticsue for a couple of pointers as well.
Subscribers to Another Newspaper’s Crossword Website are treated to a monthly prize puzzle which is at this end of the scale with obscure words. This puzzle would have sat nicely in that series.
Can I put in an early recommendation for tomorrow’s NTSPP puzzle by Omnia (Who? All will be revealed!) Without giving the game away, it’s something a little special.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
I felt as if I’d been mugged when I finished this extra-Toughie from Myops. I wasn’t helped by the Telegraph Puzzles site giving the setter as MynoT – I spent a while looking for a D in every answer! The puzzle certainly grew on me as I worked on the review. There are still one or two that I’m not completely sure about.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Tilsit is unavailable today, so I’m filling in. Once again he has missed reviewing a superb puzzle. Myops is a retired Classics master (at a school in Glasgow) and his background shows through into his puzzles.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Afternoon All (again!). Tilsit has an appointment today so you get a double dose of me! Huzzah!. When I agreed to fill in I thought that we were due another Myops puzzle and approached the day with some trepidation as I often find him very difficult. Continue reading “Toughie 578”
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
The Friday Challenge this week comes from Myops and as usual with his puzzles, I found it quite a tough challenge and if I am honest, not as enjoyable as the other puzzles this week. I did wonder whether we would be treated to something appropriate for the day, but it was not to be. There is a mini-theme and a sort of Nina related to 5 down in the grid.
There are some nice clues and clever constructions, but whether I am feeling a bit drained from my recent exertions and a bit all puzzled out (you’ll get to see why on BBC4 in September!), but I just found it difficult to tune in to this puzzle. I think I’ll have to spend time wrestling with the Wee Stinker puzzle to get inside Myops’ mind a little.