Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Petitjean is John Pidgeon – Click here for his entry in Wikipedia
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
All good things must come to an end and, very sadly, this is the last ever Petitjean Toughie, but what a magnificent series it has been – one that the Crossword Editor has been kind enough to schedule mostly on Wednesdays so that I have had the pleasure of blogging the majority of them.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
We have another lovely example of Petitjean’s humour today – how lucky we are that he left such a golden legacy.
For the most part I found this one reasonably straightforward but I didn’t know the silk or the fragrant resin (though both were gettable from the wordplay) and I also had to have a think about 6d – so I’ve added half a star to the difficulty rating.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Petitjean gives us a full serving of quirkiness today and a lot of laughs to boot. How we’ll miss him when his treasury of puzzles comes to an end!… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It’s almost three years since the first posthumous Petitjean puzzle appeared and the legacy continues to live on. I didn’t think that this was quite as good as some of the previous ones but it was still an interesting though fairly straightforward solve.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
It was our very own Gnomethang who originally commented “I always consider that I need to put a ‘slightly mad’ hat on in order to solve a Petitjean crossword“.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
We have another serving of great fun from the late Petitjean today. The extra half-star for difficulty that I’ve awarded it is due to my spending time going down a blind alley on 9/11a (well it seemed a good idea at the time!).… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****/*****
This is another superb puzzle from the late Petitjean (I hope that when they finally run out the Telegraph will publish them all in a book). Today we have the very witty 10a/15a pair, the funny 15d and a host of other clever and amusing clues.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
We are privileged to have another superb puzzle from the late Petitjean. Thanks once more to his family for allowing us to enjoy the large body of work that he left behind.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
If we need a ‘mad hat’ for most Petitjean Toughies then we certainly need an even wackier one for today’s puzzle. Clue after clue are testament to his unique sense of humour and the whole thing is most enjoyable.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
We have another example of Petitjean’s art to enjoy. I thought that this one was on the gentle side but as enjoyable as ever. In case you missed the comment from the editor on Petitjean’s previous puzzle he has confirmed that there are enough of the great man’s Toughies left to last into next year.… Continue reading