Daily Telegraph – Page 878 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

ST 2564

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2564

A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe

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BD Rating – Difficulty **** Enjoyment *****

Here’s a puzzle using one of those “natural” 15×15 grids with words of 5, 7, and 9 letters. These have the potential to include some very familiar content, but although there are a few old favourite answers here, there are plenty of less frequent visitors to the grid too, and enough difficulty to make it a relatively tricky Sunday Telegraph puzzle for me, even with 3 hidden word clues.

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DT 26414

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26414

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

A not too difficult puzzle from Giovanni today and I did waver between two and three stars for difficulty. A couple of the clues stand out for me. How about you? Let us know what you thought of it in a comment!
We get new readers all the time, so I’m sure that regulars will forgive the need for a constant reminder that the answers are concealed between the curly brackets under each clue. Just highlight the space between the brackets to reveal one.

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DT 26409

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26409

A Full Review by Gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Morning All!. I failed to realise last week, due to lack of thought, that Cephas had taken a break and a new setter was in place so I was comforted to see that this week’s was one of his – the usual good charades and cryptic definitions, some gentle, some not so, confirmed this.

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Toughie 469

Toughie No 469 by Petitjean

Hints and tips by Bufo

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Sorry about the late posting but I had to go out for a few hours. I thought the puzzle of average difficult and, even though I’m not a great fan of Petitjean’s clueing, I thought it was of reasonable standard.

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DT 26413

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26413

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment **

Big Dave is stuck at Birmingham airport this morning (not snowbound, but waiting for a later flight than expected) so I have the (dubious?) honour of reviewing today’s puzzle. Unfortunately it’s not a Ray T this week and I can’t say that I found it very stimulating – there are a few good clues but for the most part it’s fairly humdrum. If you really liked it (or if you didn’t) please let us know in a comment.

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Toughie 468

Toughie No 468 by Shamus

Put your back into it!

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

We have a pleasant challenge today, not a piece of cake but not mind-blowingly difficult – just right for a freezing Wednesday. Let us know what you think of it in a comment and please take the time to click on one of the stars below to show how you rate it.

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DT 26412

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26412

Hints and tips by Crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

An excellent Wednesday crossword from Jay today. I enjoyed the solving process and am even more of a fan having written the review. A very nice mix of clues, some nice misleads and some lovely double definitions. I can already see the comments regarding my difficulty rating but that’s how I found it. I just hope you all found it as entertaining as I did. Thanks Jay.

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Toughie 467

Toughie No 467 by Giovanni

Speak proper like what I do!

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BD Rating – Difficulty ****Enjoyment *

Once upon a time I used to look forward to Giovanni puzzles, but I did not enjoy this one. It was not helped by two poor homophones, one of which was the worst I have seen in a long time.  I’m sure some of you will disagree – feel free to comment

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DT 26411

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26411

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

I was quite unimpressed with this puzzle when I solved it, but I began to like it a bit better when I wrote the review. Let us know your opinion in a comment!
Just highlight the space between the curly brackets under the clue if you want to see an answer.

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DT 26410

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26410

Hints and tips by Libellule

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

The usual Monday morning frolic from the Monday Maestro. A case of quick, slow, quick for me, as I started well, slowed down and then finally finished at a canter. Favourite 13d, least favourite 2d.

If the hint does not provide enough of a clue to get the answer, just highlight the space between the curly brackets.

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