Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *
No comment from me, but please feel free to leave your own 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 ***
The Tuesday puzzle is always an adventure – there seem to be at least three (possibly more) regular setters so I’m never sure what I’m going to get to blog. I thought that this was a mixture with some amusing clues but with a couple of dodgy surfaces. Let us in on your thoughts.
To reveal an answer highlight the space between the brackets under the clues.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
“Happy Eightieth to Roger Squires” was the round-about nina in NTSPP 106, and the event was well and truly, if a few days prematurely, celebrated in the Shropshire village of Ironbridge on Saturday. Rufus’s sleight of hand with a deck of cards is reflected in the wordplay demonstrated in today’s puzzle, and clearly he has lost none of his wit and dexterity, for this is a reprint of his very first DT cryptic puzzle that first appeared on November 28, 1986.
Has it stood the test of time? Please share your views, but join me in wishing the sly old fox all the best for Feb 22nd, and heartfelt thanks for the untold hours of entertainment that he has provided.
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BD Rating – Difficulty *****2 – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from the Calder Valley! Time to renew acquaintance with our Scottish setter Myops. Today is not so much a Wee Stinker (his other regular crossword) as a *&*&^^^%! Stinker, in fact probably the Toughest of the Toughie puzzles series. This was a ferocious beast that took an awful long time to crack and I suspect this is not going to please most solvers. There are some cracking clues, but the use of a great many obscure words with obscure definitions add to the solver’s woe. Normally when I have been wrestling with Elgar or Osmosis, I have a feeling of satisfaction but that didn’t seem there today. Thanks to Crypticsue for a couple of pointers as well.
Subscribers to Another Newspaper’s Crossword Website are treated to a monthly prize puzzle which is at this end of the scale with obscure words. This puzzle would have sat nicely in that series.
Can I put in an early recommendation for tomorrow’s NTSPP puzzle by Omnia (Who? All will be revealed!) Without giving the game away, it’s something a little special.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Afternoon All! This week saw a slightly gentler puzzle that was no less enjoyable and very well crafted as we have come to expect from Virgilius.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Last week I gave the Giovanni two stars for difficulty and provoked a lot of disagreement. Undeterred, I’m awarding this one the same – do you agree this week? It’s got some very good clues and I enjoyed it.
If you’re stuck for an answer even after reading the hint just highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Before I started to solve this Prize Puzzle, I couldn’t remember if it was the turn of Cephas or the Mysteron – a count of the anagrams soon convinced me that it was definitely a Cephas puzzle, as usual an enjoyable Saturday morning interlude.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
I thought this was another pleasant puzzle of genuine Toughie standard. I did struggle on the bottom half because the long answer wasn’t obvious and I decided to wait until I had a fair number of intersecting letters before attempting to solve the anagram.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Yet another excellent puzzle from Ray T – keep ’em coming! I thought this was a tad easier than usual, but feel free to disagree.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Another Wednesday and we have another fine Toughie to enjoy, this time from Notabilis. Personally I prefer this style of Toughie, where there are no very obscure words and the “toughness” is in the wordplay. He does take a few imaginative liberties with the anagram indicators.
Please let us know how you got on and take the time to register your enjoyment factor by clicking on one of the stars below.