Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
I tend to run out of superlatives when reviewing a Notabilis puzzle. This one hits exactly the right mark for the Toughie genre … and there’s a Nina running along the long diagonals to boot!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
One of the many ways my crosswording life improved after I ‘found’ Big Dave and his blog was that I became a regular solver and then a fortnightly reviewer of the Sunday puzzle. This week’s offering was another candidate for best puzzle of the week, containing the excellent clueing, trademark hidden words and a few d’oh moments too. My top favourites are marked in blue.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another Friday, another Giovanni puzzle. How did you get on with it?
If you want to see an answer just run your cursor through the space between the brackets under the clue.
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BD Rating –Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Morning All!. Last Saturday’s puzzle marked the 25th Anniversary of the first puzzle published in the Daily Telegraph by Cephas, a.k.a. Peter Chamberlain. In retrospect this means that I have probably solved more of his puzzles than any other setter’s. His style is very recognisable and sits well with the ‘Prize Puzzle’ ethos in the Telegraph being consistent, enjoyable, sometimes tricky but never absolutely fiendish in style (although he often sets harder puzzles in the Toughie). This puzzle was pretty much archetypal in this regard.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another puzzle that I didn’t find to be a genuine Toughie. That makes four Thursdays in a row that I’ve had an easy time of it. I had no problems with this one and didn’t stall once during the solving. I think the large number of anagrams was a big help.
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
Two difficulty ratings again – the first for those that enjoy Ray T’s puzzles and the second for those that don’t!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A revolution in Toughieland? Yesterday we had an Elkamere-lite and today we have an Elgar ejected from his usual Friday slot. Not that I’m complaining, you understand – Elgar is a welcome visitor to Wednesdays and can always claim asylum here. He may not be quite at his most fiendish but the puzzle is still chock full of clever and witty clues and it was a joy to solve (and a repeated joy to blog). On top of that he’s given us two Ninas (and provided clues for them) and it’s a pangram. How are the Thursday and Friday puzzles going to match this?
Let us know how you liked it and please take the time to register your enjoyment factor by clicking on one of the stars below.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Hola from the Vega Baja. The usual excellent Wednesday fare, not too difficult but very enjoyable. I’ve given 2* for difficulty based on my solving time but it was very close to being 3*, so I guess some of you will disagree with me.
Continue reading “DT 26711”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Elkamere / Anax described this as a purring pussy of a puzzle and he was right. It proves that a puzzle does not have to be difficult to be enjoyable, but I must admit to preferring Anax with teeth to Elkamere with gums!
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Today’s puzzle provides an entertaining but not too strenuous workout (although it does contain one interesting phrase which is new to me). Let us know how you got on.
If you need to verify an answer just highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.