Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Currently Thursday does not appear to have a regular setter, although since Autumn 2010 Ray T features frequently. During 2009 almost all of the Thursday puzzles were set by Jay.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
This is a workmanlike puzzle which should not cause too much aggravation. When starting out with a blank grid it’s always nice to find a few clues that offer you an easy “way in”, and we have several here such as 12a, 24a and 5d.
As usual the answers are inside the curly brackets – just select the white space inside the brackets to reveal them.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
After the discussions of the past few days on whether a puzzle is easy or difficult it is with some trepidation that I suggest that this is one of the easier daily puzzles. This is, however, only a personal opinion, and as the quizmaster used to say “the questions are only easy if you know the answer”.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This is an agreeable puzzle with a number of entertaining clues. It contains one word which was new to me, but it’s not too difficult to get it from the wordplay and the checking letters.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Categorising a puzzle as difficult or easy is problematic, in that one which is easy for a veteran solver who knows all the conventions and has probably seen variations on many of the clues before, can be very difficult for a novice. So the “BD Difficulty Rating” at the top of all our reviews is not meant to be an absolute judgement but is a personal opinion of how this puzzle compares with an average one in this category.
I found this puzzle to be slightly easier than the normal Telegraph Cryptic (and therefore an ideal one for someone starting out), but with many well-constructed and entertaining clues – but that’s just one opinion – leave us yours via a comment!
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This is a good, solid puzzle with some nice surface readings. I always think that if you are amused by the first clue across, which was the case for me here, then you are pre-disposed to like the whole puzzle.
‘
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Nothing too obscure or contentious today – what we have is a straightforward puzzle which should not frustrate regular solvers for very long, but which contains some entertaining clues.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
This puzzle is one of the easiest we have had for some time, but it is full of cleverly-constructed clues with excellent surface readings. It would be a very good introduction for someone new to cryptics. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
I thought that this was an enjoyable puzzle which had some entertaining and amusing clues without being overly difficult or containing any really obscure words – just what we need for a daily crossword.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
It’s St. George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday so the puzzle will be full of allusions to celebrations, dragons and bardic quotations, won’t it? Well no, unless you count one measly mention of a flag!
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
If yesterday’s puzzle required a frantic trawl through a medical ward, then today’s offers a period of convalescence with a gentle stroll through some fairly straightforward clues with no obscure words in sight.
