Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2494 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Some time during today the view count on the blog will almost certainly reach 250,000 – all achieved in a day or two under 6 months. I’d like to thank all of you for your support over those 6 months and hope you will stay on for the next 6 months and beyond.
Many of you will be pleased to know that this puzzle is not as difficult as the one from a week ago.
Yesterday and today I am trying an experiment with a new WordPress feature. 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. Please remember you are assessing the puzzle and not my attempt to explain it! If enough of you use this feature then it will be retained for future puzzles, so it’s up to you – vote now.
At the moment the rating system can’t be turned on post by post, which means you can rate any previous puzzle. While you are welcome to do that (and some already have) it would seem unlikely that the numbers entered will be sufficient for a realistic rating.
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, 31st July.
Continue reading “ST 2494 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2493 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This Sunday puzzle is approaching the standard set by some Toughies. It make take a little while, but it is well worth the effort.
Continue reading “ST 2493 – Review”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2493 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A Sunday puzzle that is tougher than some Toughies. Each answer must be carefully coaxed from the clue.
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, 24th July.
Continue reading “ST 2493 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2492 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Yet another excellent Sunday puzzle – if you don’t do these you are missing out.
Continue reading “ST 2492 – Review”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2492 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Once again, the highlight of the week. Excellent clues, and some tricky wordplay, for a puzzle that is ideally suited to a lazy Sunday morning.
A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 17th July.
Continue reading “ST 2492 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2491 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Not quite as good as last week’s, but still streets ahead of how they used to be.
Continue reading “ST 2491 – Review”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2491 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Last week I asked for more of the same, and Jed has done just that. I found it a little easier than last weeks puzzle, but just as enjoyable.
A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 10th July. Continue reading “ST 2491 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2490 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
There have been a lot of good Sunday puzzles recently, and this was another. Sorry for the late appearance of this review, but I’m still sorting out Friday morning’s computer crash.
Continue reading “ST 2490 – Review”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2490 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
After last week’s fiasco, today we have one of the best Sunday puzzles in a long time. Please Sir, can we have some more like this?
A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 3rd July.
Continue reading “ST 2490 – Hints”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2489 – Review
A full analysis by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *
This turned out to be an unintentional rehash of Toughie 110. See the Hints post for more details, but that accounts for the low rating allocated.
Continue reading “ST 2489 – Review”