Big Dave's Crossword Blog – Page 1357 – Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English

ST Cryptic No 2477 – Review

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2477 – Review

A full analysis by Big Dave

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

Yet another good Sunday puzzle – not as difficult as last week’s but just as enjoyable.

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DT Cryptic No 25888 – Review

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25888 – Review

A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe

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

A better grid than the last couple – all entries at least 50% checked, and no isolated areas of the grid. I got through most of this pretty easily, but struggled with the NE corner, where 4, 5, 9 and the last word of 6 took longer than the rest put together.


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Toughie No 122

Toughie No 122 by Kcit

Today’s hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Today’s Toughie is one of the easier ones, which means it’s a good one to start if you haven’t tried them before.  My two star difficulty rating would put it at about three stars for a regular daily cryptic.

[OK BigBoab, there are one or two tricky words, but then you finish this puzzle wiser than when you started!]

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Toughie No 121

Toughie No 121 by Elgar

Hints and tips by Gazza

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

I approached this puzzle with some trepidation, bearing in mind the date, wondering what tricks the compiler had in store. Actually it offers a thoroughly entertaining battle with some tricky wordplay and some delightful clues (the best of which is slightly risqué!).

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DT Cryptic No 25891

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25891

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

This puzzle is relatively easy, as long as you can get 7 down.  If you can’t, then the answer is below!

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Toughie No 120

Toughie No 120 by Shamus

Today’s hints and tips by Big Dave

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

You can always rely on Shamus to set a challenging crossword, but one that is solvable with a little patience.  One or two trickier answers and some even trickier wordplay made this another very enjoyable puzzle.

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DT Cryptic No 25890

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25890

Today’s hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

I had a sense of déjà vu when doing this puzzle since many of the answers seemed to have cropped up recently! It’s a typical Tuesday puzzle – nothing too complicated or tricky.

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DT Cryptic No 25889

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25889

Get your week off the ground with this typical DT cryptic

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Monday’s puzzles are usually relatively easy, and satisfyingly lacking in obscure or tenuous clues.  Today’s is no exception.

Tilsit is still in hospital, but hopes to return next week.

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