I approached this puzzle with some trepidation, bearing in mind the date, wondering what tricks the compiler had in store. Actually it offers a thoroughly entertaining battle with some tricky wordplay and some delightful clues (the best of which is slightly risqué!).
You can always rely on Shamus to set a challenging crossword, but one that is solvable with a little patience. One or two trickier answers and some even trickier wordplay made this another very enjoyable puzzle.
Tilsit was due to review today’s Toughie, but he was rushed into hospital on Monday. He had still hoped to be able to do this review as he didn’t want to disappoint his new fans. I am sure you will all be joining me in wishing him a speedy recovery.
I made steady progress through this puzzle, and the one long word was soon revealed by the checking letters (together with Chamber’s online); this could have been a little difficult look up if you were doing this on the 7.55 to 3 down!
I thought that this Toughie was somewhat easier than usual. Of course these views are totally subjective, and if you think differently please let us know via a comment.
I had a strong start, getting both 1a and 1d immediately, and I thought I was on a roll. I got a bit lost in the middle and then it all fell into place towards the end.
A good mix of easy and hard clues for this Toughie
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This was a pleasant enjoyable puzzle which was a little above the average difficulty for a Toughie . The usual Toughie mix of familiar and unfamiliar words, with a smile or two along the way!
This was a pleasant enjoyable puzzle of average Toughie difficulty. If you can do the regular Daily Cryptic then you ought to be able to do this one, but it will probably take a liitle longer.
As Toughies go this one is pretty easy (it’s an ideal one to start on if you’re dipping your toe in such waters for the first time; just don’t expect them all to be as easy as this!). That said, there are a few cleverly-worded and enjoyable clues amongst the easy ones, and a distinct lack of very obscure words, which is a major benefit in my opinion.
The more of these puzzles that you do, the more you begin to appreciate them. This one had the handful of lesser-known words that seem to be mandatory these days, and a UK-centric term just to fool Dr b and any other Americans that might venture into Toughie territory!
Thanks to one of the regular ScrewUps on a well known site my account was deactivated yesterday, despite having 10 months to run on my subscription. I thought perhaps someone had been upset about the ScrewedUp News, but I was advised that this had happened to a number of people. I was reinstated ealier today, but I am running further behind than usual.