Toughie No 250 by Shamus
Tough Stuff!
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Very much at the top end of the scale today from Shamus. A puzzle of beautiful construction but some hard-to-parse answers. I was convinced for a while that there might be a faulty anagram at 18 across, but Gazza came to the rescue, and analysed it correctly for me.
Elegant cluemanship as always from Shamus, very much in the Giovanni mould.
As usual, the answers are hidden in between the squiggly brackets. Highlighting them reveals all. You can rate the puzzle using our star system at the end of the blog, and of course have your say and give your opinion after the blog as well. A reminder that first-time posters sometimes take a wee while to appear as they have to be approved, in order to prevent the board being hijacked by spammers.
Continue reading “Toughie 250”
Toughie No 239 by Shamus
Hints and tips by Anax
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
A four-star difficulty rating? Well, I struggled, so I can only give a personal assessment – seasoned Toughie solvers may have different tales to tell. Oddly, the solve itself didn’t take very long, but I was left with a clutch of clues whose wordplay I couldn’t fathom, and for that reason alone I’ve notched the enjoyment level down from what could easily have been 4 or 5. Apart from those difficulties this puzzle offered some tough, imaginative clueing and a handful of real corkers. Kudos to the setter, too, for not being put off by awkward Js and Qs. There’s just one quibble at 23Dn.
Continue reading “Toughie 239”
Toughie No 221 by Shamus
Pulses and Smiles
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
When I wrote the review of yesterday’s Cryptic I said that it was pretty straightforward but with not a great deal to get the pulses racing or bring a smile to the lips. I did not know at the time of writing that it was by Shamus, who later left a tongue-in-cheek comment to the effect that he would try to get into a more pulse-racing mode in future puzzles. Imagine my surprise when the Toughie I have to review the very next day is by the same setter, and, as good as his word, he’s included a number of challenging and amusing clues.
We appreciate all the contributions that you make, so please take the time to leave a comment and tell us what you thought of the puzzle or the review.
Continue reading “Toughie 221”
Toughie No 209 by Shamus
Solving the Case
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
The pseudonym of today’s setter is an old American slang word for a private detective and he has given us a stimulating case which requires a fair bit of investigation to solve, with several things being learnt on the way.
I suspect that there may be some complaints about the use of ‘regulars’ in 11d to mean the odd letters of a word. What do you think? – leave us a comment!
Continue reading “Toughie 209”
Toughie No 193 by Shamus
Hints and Tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This is an interesting puzzle from Shamus who has been kind enough to make all four of the 15-letter clues relatively easy, which is a massive help in solving the rest. I’d like to give it two and a half stars for difficulty, but that’s not possible – how many would you give it? – leave us a comment!
Also, please don’t forget to vote for the entertainment factor by clicking on one of the stars at the bottom of the review.
Continue reading “Toughie 193”
Toughie No 179 by Shamus
Shamus at his best!
+ – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Breaking a run of Elgar and Excalibur on alternate Fridays, we have this excellent puzzle from Shamus. I liked the artistic flavour and really enjoyed this one.
Continue reading “Toughie 179”
Toughie No 166 by Shamus
Hints and tips by Tilsit
+ – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A fairly entertaining challenge from Shamus, who always provides puzzles that are both fair and a reasonable test for solvers. I have to say I found this one a little easier than his usual challenges, but it did contaion things that made me reach for the Chambers.
Shamus is one of Azed’s band of solvers from the Observer every Sunday, and regularly appears in the prize winners for his monthly clue writing competition. Solvers may be interested to know that another of Azed’s band of regulars sadly passed away the other day. Dorothy Taylor, who was 98, had a rather particular claim to fame. Dorothy used to enter puzzles under her sister’s name Mrs B Lewis and her name was used, along with that of another eminent solver, Sir Jeremy Morse, by Colin Dexter, himself a regular Azed prizewinner. And so Morse and Lewis became famous.
[You can see a picture of Dorothy, with Sir Jeremy, in this post on Derek Harrison’s Crossword Message Board. The following entry in the same thread has a picture of her with Colin Dexter and Don (Giovanni) Manley . BD]
Continue reading “Toughie 166”
Toughie No 154 by Shamus
Hints and tips by Big Dave
+ – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A pleasant puzzle that wouldn’t have been out-of-place as a daily cryptic.
Continue reading “Toughie 154”
Toughie No 142 by Shamus
Hints and tips by Tilsit
+ – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Nice to see the Toughie live up to its name today with a fairly challenging solve. As I am solving onscreen at the moment, I suffered several “Your solution is wrong” messages before finally getting the all correct one, which came as a great relief.
Incidentally, someone managed to solve the DT Wednesday Crossword on line in 2 minutes and 36 seconds according to the statistics. Presumably they will be taking part in the final of the Crossword Championships in Cheltenham later this year. Messrs Goodliffe and Biddlecombe should be quaking in their boots.
Anyway, back to today. I think we can put Shamus firmly into the Ximenean camp with this cluing, all absolutely sound.
Continue reading “Toughie 142”
Toughie No 132 by Shamus
A Potpourri of a Puzzle
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This puzzle draws on a wide variety of words – two cities, a Scottish town, a Shetland fire festival, food and drink, a lake, an American President and a type of railway. All of the proper nouns are well-known apart from the fire festival, but I enjoyed reading about it.
Today is the big day when I am entitled to collect my pension, so it is a bit hectic here at the moment! The hints and tips may take a litle while to complete, but I will get them done.
Continue reading “Toughie No 132”