Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
One of the best Saturday Prize puzzles for quite a while has no answer of less than six letters. Most of the recent puzzles from Cephas have been pangrams – that is all 26 letters of the alphabet are used – and this one is no exception.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Seasonal Greetings from the snowy Calder Valley!
An absolutely stunning festive puzzle from Elgar today, which not only features a special Christmas favourite as the theme but a rattling good set of clues to boot. Only one clue I have a bit of a grumble about but I can see what our setter is aiming at with it. A couple of new words to me as well, but that’s all part of the fun of solving a Toughie. If you are really, really stuck, there’s a big hint at the very end of the puzzle.
As a chum of Elgar’s I am probably a bit biased, but this shows a compiler at the top of his game and why he is often regarded as a “setter’s setter”. I am already looking forward to his next one which may well be lurking around Clued Up tomorrow. Don’t forget that you can have a free trial this week, so do make sure you get the two special puzzles on the site tomorrow. If for any reason you miss them, I am sure one of the nice bods around these parts may oblige!
Leave a comment telling us what you thought of it. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A bit of a cornery grid, too many cryptic definitions, how does 9a work, is 16d cryptic? Bah humbug! In general an enjoyable Christmas themed crossword, what more can you ask for. According to a comment made by J, this is one of Rufus’ crosswords, but many thanks to J. for all of the crosswords he has set this year.
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all of the Telegraph setters, the readers of this blog, and the bloggers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Continue reading “DT 26120”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
Today’s compiler is the usual setter of the Saturday Prize Crossword and this puzzle is a pangram (i.e. it contains all the letters of the alphabet), which is becoming his trademark. Apart from a couple of dodgy anagram indicators (at 22a and 28a) there is a horrible clue at 5d which expects you to find a very obscure village with the only help being that it is in Cambridgeshire!
As always your comments are very welcome.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Christmas is always a crossword fan’s dream. Lots and lots of special puzzles around and I currently have 14 waiting to be solved from last weekend. Many of them are Jumbos and barred puzzles with a theme and take a lot longer.
Of course the dailies still run on, and not many have a theme, especially here in the Telegraph. So in effect they provide a little light relief from the festive challenges. This was an OK puzzle, but didn’t really hit the heights for me and it was difficult to guess who the setter was there were no clues to really help me identify them.
One of my (admittedly small) grumbles today is with the cryptic definition at 7 down. I am a reasonably PC person and have to admit to being surprised to see that clue in the Telegraph, rather like yesterday’s CRINOLINE clue. Quite a lot of you will probably find it hilarious, but it isn’t my cup of coffee (I can’t stand tea!). Not keen on the use of “number” to indicate Personal Identification Number in 19 either. However it passed a pleasant few minutes and there wasn’t a lot to trouble me in there today.
Incidentally, if you want a cracking Christmas challenge, try Araucaria’s Christmas Cracker, which can be found here. Read that preamble carefully and get thinking!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Anax commented on the last puzzle from Osmosis that the E/E grid, where the answers appeared in the even numbered rows and columns, made solving harder than it might otherwise have been. This time we have an O/O grid and the puzzle was considerably easier. I felt that the enjoyment was considerably reduced by some very convoluted wordplay, much of which I only managed to resolve after completing the puzzle.
Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It’s Ray T’s turn this week and we have a typically entertaining puzzle, although I felt that a couple of the cryptic definitions were a bit weak, and I do have a gripe with 12a.
As always the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets under each clue – just select the white space inside the brackets to reveal.
Since this is my last Cryptic review before the big day (although for Toughie addicts, I will be back tomorrow), may I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Very Happy Christmas.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Today’s crossword from our Monday Maestro posed some difficulties which I had to surmount before completing the puzzle. At one stage, after the initial flurry of quick fills, I had ten to go: 10a, 14a, 28a, 29a, 30a and 7d, 18d, 19d,21d and 26d. Luckily these fell one by one: why the bottom left corner held on till the end was because of my own mistake in writing wrongly the second word in the long phrasal 11d. I got wise to it only after some crossings wouldn’t gel.
Clues I liked especially: 20a, 1d.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Four weeks ago Sunsetter hinted that there might be a themed puzzle appropriate to the time of year – well here it is! You are certain to spot the theme very quickly, but in order not to spoil it I have decided not to provide hints for the first and last across clues.
This is quite an easy puzzle, but the five stars for enjoyment reflect the number of clues that made me smile.
If Helen is reading this, I did try to write to you last week but my email was returned as undeliverable so I answered your question in the Hints post.
Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Friday, 25th December (or thereabouts!).
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A number of you said that you didn’t like having too many four-letter words in a puzzle – well Cephas has delivered on his promise and the shortest answer today is six letters. The result is one of the best Saturday Prize puzzles for quite a while. Remember that most of the recent puzzles from this setter have been pangrams – that is all 26 letters of the alphabet are used – as this may help you with the final few answers.
Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full review of this puzzle will be published on Thursday, 24th December.