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 *****
We have waited since last October for this latest magnum opus from Myops – and it was well worth the wait. Tilsit is back in hospital so has missed out on this truly magnificent Toughie.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
We have a super puzzle today to celebrate the 500th Toughie, set by the mysterious DiDi Guess (with, as is explained in the paper and on-line, the considerable assistance of eight better known setters). We are promised a breakdown of who set which clues tomorrow, so that means we have the opportunity to show how well (or badly) we recognise the characteristics of the individual setters by making educated guesses today.
As is quite usual for me I missed the theme completely until I’d finished (at least I did spot it then – I quite often miss these things altogether until somebody points them out). It’s all to do with the Roman numeral for 500.
So, let us know how you liked it and who you think set which clues and then we’ll all have a good laugh tomorrow when we find out the correct answers. I’ve put a few of my thoughts at the bottom of the review.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Another ferocious Friday Toughie, this time by Myops and a thoroughly enjoyable one. Myops has very much his own style and this makes for a really good challenge. Have to thank Crypticsue for a couple of nudges, especially as new Telegraph Puzzles decided not to give me the usual letter hints. Having a wrong entry at 3d didn’t help my woes. Lots of nice elegant surface readings and cunning clues, although probably too many anagrams; thanks to Myops for a grand challenge.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
Fitting in the answers was a struggle for many of the clues. Explaining the wordplay is even harder. Myops is one of a handful of setters worthy of the Friday Toughie slot (along with Elgar, Notabilis, Osmosis and Micawber).
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
I feel a bit guilty as I’m writing this in a desperate rush; busy day. Blimey, I found this tough – a clutch of obscure answers saw me delving into Chambers and several wordplays had me clutching at irrelevant straws.
It was enjoyable though. Were it not for the obscurities and a few small quibbles I’d have given this more stars, but there are some beautiful clues in here.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A quick glance over the clues, and this puzzle seemed to have Elgar written all over it, albeit without the linked answers and smattering of numerical grid references. On solving, many clues had that close-to-the-edge risk factor to convince me even more. And it turns out I was completely wrong. What an aficionado I am.
So, you might think I enjoyed this, and (unlike a Jeremy Clarkson sentence starting with those same words) you’d be right. There’s lovely, imaginative stuff all over the place, coupled with some real challenges that took a lot of unravelling.
The clues that made my flag flutter are shown in blue – do yours match?
Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
Did I have this one coming? After several weeks of easy-to-moderate Fridays this came along with “absolute stinker” tattooed on its forehead. Some tricky wordplay is combined with several very obscure answers.
There is a theme, but there is also a departure from the thematic norm in that the completed grid appears not to contain any thematic material. Instead, we have clues presented as rhyming couplets (hence the forward slash bits) and, spread among them in sequence, all twelve of the calendar months. As a result some of the surface readings come close to being nonsensical but that’s hardly surprising given the constraints imposed by two thematic elements.
My favourite clues are in blue.
Please tell us what you thought of this one, and add your assessment of it by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Having solved the puzzle I was somewhat surprised to find that it was by Myops, bearing in mind that his last Toughie, in the week before Christmas, was given 5 stars for difficulty by Anax who said “I’m giving this five stars for a difficulty that comes partly from very clever and oblique wordplay and partly from some devilish obscurities that should have even experienced solvers ransacking their dictionaries”.
I can’t say that I enjoyed this one a great deal. Nearly half the clues involve an anagram, and some of the surface readings make little sense, but 1d is very clever.
As always, your comments are very welcome.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
Yes, I’m giving this five stars for a difficulty that comes partly from very clever and oblique wordplay and partly from some devilish obscurities that should have even experienced solvers ransacking their dictionaries. I’ve given four stars for enjoyment mainly because I appreciate a tough challenge, but I suspect there will be a few who found the whole thing a bit much even for a Friday.
Some of the clue-writing here is just awesome; while there may be no laugh-out-loud clues by way of surface readings, there are some epically imaginative constructions spiced with a great deal of originality.
This is a puzzle which on occasion pushes the boundaries and, for me, there are a handful of clues whose fairness is debatable.
So in addition to the usual blue for favourite clues I’ve used red to indicate those where I thought the solver was being tested a bit unfairly.
Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
I really struggled with this one – Myops is well known in Scotland for setting the Wee Stinker and this one shows why it is so called.
Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.