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 **
I didn’t enjoy this puzzle very much first time round, and even less second time when writing the review. Many of the clues were very messy, and I can’t remember the last time I saw a good Spoonerism (the one here certainly wasn’t).
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Most of this puzzle was straightforward but I slowed down a little towards the end and had difficulty in working out some of the wordplay. It just about got into the 3* difficulty zone. I think the last couple of Thursdays have spoilt me for today there were too many easy clues for my liking and I was 14 across by the puzzle
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I really liked this – lots of vivid and witty surfaces and inventive wordplay. I’ve picked out a few favourites at the end of the post and look forward to hearing yours. Four stars for enjoyment and, in the end, for difficulty too after I ground to a complete halt before mopping up 19a and four clues in the NW corner. But that may just be me. [EDIT: Evidently it was, so I have moderated it to 3* difficulty.]
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Nowhere near as frustrating as the last Petitjean puzzle I blogged even though I struggled in the SW corner and had problems understanding some of the wordplay
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **
A frustrating crossword. I did over half of it with no effort and thought it was going to be a one- or two-star difficulty puzzle. Then I started having problems though for most clues I could see what the answer must be but couldn’t unravel the wordplay. Last week I commented that it was nice not to have any tricky four-letter answers. I wish I could say the same this week. I didn’t particularly enjoy the time spent sorting out the last few answers. Because of this I upped the difficulty rating and lowered the enjoyment rating
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
I needed my “slightly mad” hat today as Petitjean returns to the Toughie fold after an absence of nearly six months. My clue of the day was the elegant 17 down with its superb definition – “like a reckless bargain-hunter”.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This is one of Petitjean’s easier puzzles, which probably accounts for its appearance in the Tuesday slot. There are rather a lot of insertions and deletions of letters, but mercifully few anagrams.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Not one of Petitjean’s more difficult puzzles, which is presumably why it ended up in this Tuesday slot.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
This was a tad more difficult than most of the recent Tuesday Toughies, but that’s not a bad thing. The resolution of the wordplay for 1 across added a difficulty star.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
An entertaining puzzle, but I have a quibble with a couple of clues.