Toughie No 2500 by Samuel
Hints and tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
We haven’t had a Toughie from Samuel for over six months, Continue reading “Toughie 2500”
Tag: 2500
ST 2500
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2500
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
As expected, this puzzle was a bit out of the ordinary. At least in the online version, it was accompanied by a warning message attached to the first across and down clues: “WARNING: Two answers in this special 2500th puzzle require numbers as well as letters. The figure zero must be entered as a capital O.” This spoiled any possible surprise but I guess it was necessary for clarity when completing entries online.
Our Sunday setter specialises in thematic puzzles when writing as Virgilius or Brendan, so it’s no surprise that the thematic element here is handled elegantly – each of the Across rows in the grid has one word in the theme, which is clarified by the clue for 28A.
The thematic stuff led to some strange words elsewhere but solvers seem to have found even the one that’s not a proper English word – or so some of us thought – see below.
ST 2500 – Hints
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2500 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
We asked for a special crossword for number 2500, and here it is. The best single tip for solving this puzzle is to read the clue for 25 across first, then you will have an idea of the theme and where it is featured. And don’t forget to heed the warning given:
(WARNING: Two answers in this special 2500th puzzle require numbers as well as letters. The figure zero must be entered as a capital O.)
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, 11th September.
