Friday – Page 19 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Category: Friday

Friday’s current setter is Don Manley who is also known as Giovanni, Duck, Pasquale, Quixote, and Bradman (all punningly connected with the name Don or Donald)

DT 30712

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No Crossword 30712

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** -  Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I thought that while today’s puzzle was more straightforward that the average Friday offering, it delivered well above average enjoyment. It features four three-letter answers with excellent clues, which is not an easy accomplishment. Great work all round by our setter.  Continue reading "DT 30712"

Toughie 3332

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3332 by Artix
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

It was a pleasure to see the name of Artix when I printed off the puzzle this morning. He’s not at his most tricky here but it’s an enjoyable Friday Toughie.

Artix regularly incorporates a theme in his puzzles and, just as regularly, I fail to spot it. I look forward to someone explaining today’s to me.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3332”

DT 30700

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No Crossword 30700

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I thought today’s puzzle was about right for Friday difficulty-wise and well above average for enjoyment.  Continue reading "DT 30700"

Toughie 3324

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3324 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

We know what to expect from Osmosis – clever wordplay, a dearth of anagrams and very nearly but not quite a pangram (only one letter missing this week as far as I can see). I enjoyed it a lot – thanks to our setter.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3324”

DT 30694

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30694

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** -  Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I found today’s puzzle positioned at the easier end of the Friday spectrum. It was a lot of fun to solve, with nothing too chewy in the parsing.  I hope that our setter will drop in later to take a bow. Continue reading "DT 30694"

Toughie No 3320

by Sloop John Bee  

Toughie No 3320 by Elgar

Hints and tips by Sloop John Bee

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

 

Elgar provides a fitting tribute to his regular Toughie blogger, seeing the theme early allows me to reduce the difficulty one * but the enjoyment stays at the maximum

You could probably apply the 7d prefix to most words in this or any other crossword but I have highlighted as many as possible. I learned a lot about Marrowfat (8d) and the custom of giving bread to the king’s youngest child (6d) and my history knowledge of the events of 1924 has come on leaps and bounds (1a). This turophile is ashamed to have not fully parsed 29a pleased to have finally parsed 29a

The music links today are as near as I can find to those played at the Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving although Richard’s own recording of Always on my Mind is not available to me

The plethora of thematic elements were obvious highlights but 2d belongs on my podium too What were your favourites?

Continue reading “Toughie No 3320”

DT 30688

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No Crossword 30688

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday.  I found today’s puzzle perfect for the Friday slot. It has tight grammar, smooth surfaces, and several smile-inducing penny drop moments.  Continue reading "DT 30688"