Friday – Page 8 – 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)

Toughie 3556

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3556 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

This is pretty gentle for a Friday Toughie but very enjoyable. Many thanks to Karla.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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DT 31042

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31042

Hints and tips by Mr K

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

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Today we have a fun puzzle with a  few clues that required some thought to parse completely.  Smooth surfaces and shoutout to Scottish football are clues to the identity of our setter. Continue reading "DT 31042"

Toughie 3548

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3548 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

This is a proper 19d from Osmosis with loads of clever wordplay, a lack of anagrams and a minimum of obscurities. I made solid progress through the puzzle until I got held up (largely due to 7d) in the NE corner. Many thanks to our setter for the entertainment.
Continue reading “Toughie 3548”

DT 31030

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31030

Hints and tips by Mr K

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

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday.  We have a fun puzzle today, where a few clues required some head scratching to parse once I had finished the battle to complete the SW portion of the grid.  No Idea who set this one, so I hope that they’ll drop in later to claim it. Continue reading "DT 31030"

Toughie 3540

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3540 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

Thanks to Sparks for an enjoyable puzzle which isn’t too tough (for a Friday). I’ve given it an extra half-star for difficulty because I needed to verify the 1a accidents, the 9a dietary problem and the 5d mythical beast none of which I’d heard of. I can’t find any Nina today – can you?
Continue reading “Toughie 3540”