Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26514
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
This looks like a second consecutive Thursday puzzle by Ray T. Single word clues in the Quick crossword and single word answers in both puzzles are usually a good indication. What is missing is the occasional risqué clue!
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Toughie No 536 by Micawber
Anticipation is Half the Fun
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
The ability to find out on-line the identity of the Toughie setter the evening before publication is excellent, particularly when it allows one to look forward to a puzzle by the wonderful Micawber. I enjoyed this immensely when I solved it and just as much again when I wrote the review. Let us know what you thought of it in a comment and please remember to grade it for enjoyment by clicking on one of the stars below.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26513
Hints and tips by Pommers
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Apologies for being a little late this morning but there has been something of a panic in the pommers household! I got the clues for this last night but not the grid. Telegraph puzzles wouldn’t let me in this morning so I started trying to solve it ‘cold’! Managed about half before Gnomethang came to the rescue so many thanks to him! I’d never have got some of these without the checking letters. Then to cap it all I lost my internet connection for about half an hour!
The usual excellent Wednesday puzzle (presumably from Jay) which I can’t say I’ve done justice to because of the problems.
I’m sure you will enjoy it more than I did – think I’ll go for a lie down now!
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Toughie No 535 by Warbler
Have a drink on me!
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I noticed while solving this puzzle that the answers included a number of alcoholic drinks, but failed, until it was pointed out, to notice that they were all around the periphery of the puzzle, hence the clue for 4 down.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26512
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Libellule is once more enmeshed in work problems so you’ve got me again today. I suspect (though as usual on Tuesdays I’m not sure) that this is a Shamus puzzle [ Shamus has let us know that it is not one of his – see comment #1 – so it’s down to the Mysteron ] which looked as though it was going to be a pangram (specially after I’d got 13a and 20a) but just missed out. It does have a large number of anagrams (I always think that there are too many if I have to take my socks off to count them!) and the grid is very “cornery”. Let us know what you thought in a comment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26511
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Libellule is up to his eyes in work this morning, sorting out a problem for one of his customers, so I’m sitting in for him (as all the best radio jocks say!) and he’ll reciprocate tomorrow.
I thought that this puzzle was towards the harder end of Rufus’s range. There are loads of cryptic clues and it’s very entertaining. A comment with your views would be welcome.
The answers are concealed between the curly brackets under the clues. Drag your cursor through the space to reveal one.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26510 (Hints)
Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
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Toughie No 534 by Firefly
Any old dance that you wanna do by Bufo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Gnomethang for covering for me yesterday. I wondered what I was letting myself in for when offering to do Friday this week in view of the really tough toughies that Friday seems to throw up. In the event I got one that was probably above average difficulty but not a real stinker. It was a puzzle of four corners that I did in the order NE, NW, SE, SW. The key to the puzzle was 5 Ac 10 Ac which I got instantly. Of the varieties of 10 Ac used in the puzzle I had only heard of one (11 Ac) but the others were easily deduced from the anagrams.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2580
A full review by Gnomethang
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Afternoon All!. We have an absolute belter of a Sunday puzzle from Virgilius this week with his usual hallmarks. This was my back page puzzle of the week. Continue reading “ST 2580”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26509
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
We have the usual entertaining Friday puzzle from Giovanni. It seemed to send me down more wrong trails than usual – let me know what you thought in a comment.
If you want to see an answer highlight the space between the brackets under the clue.
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