Toughie No 193 by Shamus
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This is an interesting puzzle from Shamus who has been kind enough to make all four of the 15-letter clues relatively easy, which is a massive help in solving the rest. I’d like to give it two and a half stars for difficulty, but that’s not possible – how many would you give it? – leave us a comment!
Also, please don’t forget to vote for the entertainment factor by clicking on one of the stars at the bottom of the review.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25999
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This enjoyable puzzle is only spoilt a little by the dodgy anagram indicators.
You can add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
For new viewers, the answers can be seen by selecting the space between the curly brackets – we do this so that you can look up one or two answers without seeing all of them. The first time you leave a comment it will need to be moderated before others can view it – this is to prevent the site being overrun by spammers; over 800 have been intercepted so far!
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Toughie No 192 by Giovanni
Giovanni gives us an easy ride
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Last time we had a puzzle from Giovanni, it was a tough time. This time he has been a lot kinder to us. A smattering of new / lesser known words, but altogether the same excellent standard that we have come to expect.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25998
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
We can be pretty certain that there will be no discussion today about whether an answer should be hyphenated or not, since one of the trademarks of this setter is that all the answers are single words. Another trademark is that all the clues are beautifully constructed and often amusing. I was thoroughly entertained by it – what about you? Please take the time to click on one of the stars at the bottom of the review to vote for the entertainment factor.
As usual, the answers are hidden inside the curly brackets – select the white space to reveal them.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25997
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
The sun beats down on the tropical Calder Valley (Griff Rhys Jones missed us out with his river tour and went across the Pennines via Huddersfield last night!) and here we go with another week of crossword challenges. As usual, the Monday Maestro gives us a nice gentle start to the week and I’m pleased that this week we have a more balanced set of clues after last week’s abundance of cryptic definitions. Today’s workout should give the newer solver a broader introduction into cryptic crossword clues, although the old hand may have seen a few of them before.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2495 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
This is a crossword for those who love crosswords. Comparitively easy, so it should be within the reach of most solvers, it has some excellent clues. I have given hints for those which I think will cause the most problems.
At the bottom of the post you will see an array of five stars – use these to 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.
For the weekend prize crosswords I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 7th August.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25996 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment: ***
Once again we are presented with an easy prize puzzle. 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 Thursday, 6th August.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2494 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A good puzzle maintaining the standard set for the Sunday puzzles.
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Toughie No 191 by Osmosis
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
You have to work to get the answers in this very enjoyable puzzle. One or two clues have wordplay that takes a bit of unravelling, but there is nothing here that is beyond the capabilities of the average Toughie solver. That’s what I wrote twelve weeks ago, the last time I reviewed a Toughie from this setter, and little seems to have changed!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25995
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A tougher crossword I think today than we have had for a number of weeks. But still very enjoyable. I do however have a small whinge about the definition for 8 down and 11 across. The answers are as usual are hidden between the curly brackets, just highlight the blank space. Comments as always appreciated.
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