Sparks – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Category: Sparks

Sparks is the name used by Mark Kelmanson for Toughies. He is known elsewhere as Monk (M on K, his initials)

Toughie 3492

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3492 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ****/***** – Enjoyment ***

I found this puzzle pretty tricky and my copy of the BRB had to work overtime. I did enjoy the struggle – thanks to Sparks. I can’t find any Nina in the grid – can you?Thanks to Odrum who has found the Nina – see Comment #3. Continue reading “Toughie 3492”

Toughie 3444

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3444 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Thanks to Sparks for the enjoyable Friday Toughie. He very often gives us something extra in the grid – I can’t see anything today (the only letters missing are J, Q, X and Z which are the four highest Scrabble scorers but I doubt whether that’s significant). Have you spotted anything?
Update: See the comment from Retiefus below – the Nina starts at the final character of 3d. Continue reading “Toughie 3444”

Toughie 3420

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3420 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

Sparks has provided an entertaining puzzle where some of the parsing took me some time – many thanks to him. He usually has something going on in the grid and today all of the 4-letter answers are reversed in symmetrical locations.
Continue reading “Toughie 3420”

Toughie 3388

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3388 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***

Sparks has given us a pretty tricky double (thanks Huntman) pangram today – thanks to him. There are a few gimmes but most of the clues need some cogitation.
Continue reading “Toughie 3388”

Toughie 3372

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3372 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

As Friday Toughies go this was on the gentle side I thought. Sparks, as he often does, has included a couple of Ninas in the grid (see rows 1&3 and 13&15). Thanks to him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3372”

Toughie 3356

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3356 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Thanks to Sparks for what I thought was relatively straightforward for a Friday Toughie. It’s a pangram.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3356”

Toughie 3300

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3300 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****

We have an enjoyable puzzle from Sparks today. He normally includes something significant in the grid but I can’t spot anything (possibly due to the fact that I’m knackered after staying up most of the night watching the election coverage).  Thanks to him.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3300”