Toughie No 271 by Myops
So this is what an obstacle course feels like
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
Yes, I’m giving this five stars for a difficulty that comes partly from very clever and oblique wordplay and partly from some devilish obscurities that should have even experienced solvers ransacking their dictionaries. I’ve given four stars for enjoyment mainly because I appreciate a tough challenge, but I suspect there will be a few who found the whole thing a bit much even for a Friday.
Some of the clue-writing here is just awesome; while there may be no laugh-out-loud clues by way of surface readings, there are some epically imaginative constructions spiced with a great deal of originality.
This is a puzzle which on occasion pushes the boundaries and, for me, there are a handful of clues whose fairness is debatable.
So in addition to the usual blue for favourite clues I’ve used red to indicate those where I thought the solver was being tested a bit unfairly.
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