Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2513
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
A fairly tricky puzzle, this one. Someone on Sunday asked whether the “level at which they are set is in the gift of the setter for the day or whether the crossword editor issues guidance to toughen things up or to ease back a little?” I’m sure some attention is paid to this, and I believe the daily setters have some notion of a general desire for the Telegraph puzzle to avoid some of the tougher vocabulary and “general” knowledge that you might need for other broadsheet puzzles (or the Toughies); but I hope they don’t spend too much time agonising about difficulty, because it’s so hard to measure. Two different people of the same ability level can give you completely different reports about the difficulty of a puzzle, whether they’re beginners or experts. In this puzzle, knowing some fairly standard cryptic xwd material probably helped a lot in keeping the solving time down.
Sunsetter seems to have gone for a bit of Times crossword nostalgia here – this grid is the quirkiest one in the current Times set. It was made by former Times xwd editor Edmund Akenhead, and the big black E is his “signature”. It’s also the only Times grid with answers you might not have to solve at all – the two fully checked four-letter answers.
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Toughie No 267 by Notabilis
A pleasant wander through a minefield
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Three stars each? No, it isn’t a cop-out – it feels like a pretty fair reflection of a puzzle that seemed to have a 50/50 balance of easy and tough, clever and occasionally cumbersome clues. At the time of writing, only the explanation for 14d eludes me (assuming I’ve got the answer right). Fingers crossed, everything will click by the time it’s reached by the write-up. [It did, thanks to some help from Prolixic, who emails the name of the setter to me each day. These blogs may look serenely smooth above the surface, but as with the proverbial duck there is often a lot of furious paddling going on below! BD]
Leave a 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.
My favourite clues are shown in blue text.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26109
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
We have another fine puzzle for Giovanni, probably not as tricky as last Friday’s but nevertheless a good workout.
Following the discussion on Wednesday’s blog about the style of the hints I have tried today not to reveal directly any part of the answers (except for the hidden contents of the curly brackets of course!). The result is, I think, more like the hints for the weekend prize puzzles than my usual reviews. I really need some feedback as to how you like it and which style you prefer – should I persevere with this method or revert to the old one? Note that if you click on any of the links you will still see (bits of) the answer.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26104
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
One of the better Saturday Prize puzzles today – as long as you ignore the surface readings of a number of the clues!
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Toughie No 266 by Busman
How Are Ye?
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The other day Giovanni commented about the grading system on Clued Up, and once again we have a puzzle here that I am sure most of you will feel is worthy of more than the grading on that wretched site (currently two stars and three smiles). Part of the problem is that the description gradings are somewhat ambiguous. “Downright infuriating” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad puzzle, yet that presumably awards it one star.
Today’s puzzler by Busman is certainly worthy of a higher grade than it has on Clued Up and is a good challenge for those looking to make the leap from Daily Puzzle to Toughie.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26108
Hints and tips by Libellule
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I don’t think this is as difficult as we normally find on a Thursday, so I hope the rest of you find it a bit easier (especially the CC). But we do have the usual good mixture of clues (although perhaps too many anagrams) and good surface readings. Enjoy.
Did any of you notice that 26a and the bottom and top lines of the crossword read Universal Declaration (of) Human Rights? It was on this day, December 10, 1948 that the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (Well spotted Gazza and Prolixic!)
The answers can be found hidden between the curly brackets. Please let me and J. know what you thought by leaving a comment.
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Toughie No 265 by Micawber
High Aspirations
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Micawber always produces beautifully crafted clues and today is no exception. This is what a Toughie should be – challenging but very fair, with several good laughs and a minimal number of obscure words. There are no cricket references today, but there is a rugby one.
I look forward to reading your comments.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26107
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Not the hardest puzzle in the world, but a good example of how you can make a puzzle enjoyable with good fair cluing and good accurate surface reading.
My favourite clue is 5 down, followed by 26 across. It is also refreshing to see the cryptic definition used prudently rather than overdone to death.
Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle, and I hope you find it fun too!
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Toughie No 264 by Giovanni
All about Eve (and Adam too)!
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
I will be returning to the Tuesday Toughie blog for a while as Libellule is currently unable to devote enough time to do this and the Thursday daily cryptic – he is, I believe, the only one of us blogging crosswords on the day of publication that also holds down a full-time job!
I just loved this puzzle from Giovanni, and have “borrowed” from Anax the idea of highlighting my favourite clues in blue. One of the advantages of reviewing a puzzle is precisely that – you re-view and get a chance to enjoy it all over again. OK, there were one or two minor niggles, but as I explained last week the object of doing a puzzle is to enjoy solving it, and this one achieved precisely that.
Leave a 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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26106
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It’s Ray T’s turn this Tuesday and we have a typical puzzle from him, but with perhaps more cryptic definitions than usual. I didn’t think that it was too difficult, though I did initially write in Footsie for 7d.
Let us know your opinion of the puzzle, and please take the time to cast a vote by clicking on one of the stars under the review.
As usual the answers, should you need them, are hidden inside the curly brackets. Just highlight the white space inside the brackets to reveal them.
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