Toughie No 582 by Notabilis
Hints and tips by Tilsit and Big Dave
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from the Calder Valley and from Big Dave Towers! We are doing a double hander today with BD doing the Downs and me the Acrosses. I’m not feeling 100% and will retire to my bed after doing my bit. A lovely puzzle from Notabilis today with plenty to make you smile and nice way to end what I feel has been a mixed Toughie week. It’s one of those puzzles that took a bit of working out, but once you see the answer and match it to the clue, you can see and appreciate the way it works (and the mind of the evil genius behind it!). As usual with Notabilis, some of the clues are innovative ways of working clues, 8 across being a great example. How many setters would have clued it in that way?
Continue reading “Toughie 582”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2592
A full review by Gnomethang
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Afternoon All!. I’ve stared at this grid seven ways to Sunday and am prepared to stick my neck out and say “There’s no theme in this crossword”!
Continue reading “ST 2592”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26581
Hints and tips by pommers
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Hola again from the Vega Baja – bet you didn’t expect to see me again this week! Gazza is unavailable this morning so I’ve taken up the reins for him.
I’ve never blogged anything other than a Wednesday Jay puzzle so this was an interesting experience. Giovanni has provided a splendid puzzle with some elegant and complicated clues but, thankfully, it’s nowhere near as hard as last week’s!
Continue reading “DT 26581”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26576
A full review by Crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
This week our Mystery Setter gave us a very enjoyable, albeit not very time-consuming, Saturday prize puzzle. Thank you to him (?) once again from us all for an entertaining Saturday diversion, particularly me as the quick solve left more time to deal with our strawberry ‘mountain’ – more jam anyone??
Continue reading “DT 26576”
Toughie No 581 by Excalibur
Hints and tips by Bufo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **
Although I had no problem solving this one or understanding how the clues worked, I felt there were quite a number of weak clues that detracted from the enjoyment.
Continue reading “Toughie 581”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26580
Hints and tips by Big Dave
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
Two difficulty ratings today. The first is for those, like me, who sail through Ray T’s puzzles and the second is for those that struggle. Either way, the enjoyment level is the same.
Continue reading “DT 26580”
Toughie No 580 by Giovanni
Hey Donny, Donny
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Giovanni’s Toughies are not normally that much harder than his back-page puzzles and that applies today. This is pretty much on a par with his Cryptic last Friday, largely because even if you don’t know a word (as I didn’t 22d) the wordplay will normally lead you unerringly to it. It does have some very clever and enjoyable clues.
Let us know how you fared with it in a comment and please click on one of the stars below to show how you rated it.
Continue reading “Toughie 580”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26579
Hints and tips by Pommers
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Hola From the Vega Baja on a beautiful morning. Just right for solving outside in the courtyard before it gets too hot. As usual an excellent Wednesday puzzle. I toyed with giving it 4* for difficulty as there are a couple of obscure words but they’re both fairly clued so 3 it is! Be interested to hear your views.
Continue reading “DT 26579”
Toughie No 579 by MynoT
Blue is the Colour
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
MynoT’s puzzles often follow a theme. Currently he is working his way through the colours of the rainbow and this week it’s the turn of blue. I have highlighted, in blue of course, as many of the clues and answers that are in some way linked to the theme as I can.
Continue reading “Toughie 579”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26578
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
We have an enjoyable puzzle from one of our mystery setters today, although I have a couple of quibbles. I found the bottom half more difficult than the top – let us know how you found it.
To reveal an answer drag your cursor through the space between the brackets under the clue.
Continue reading “DT 26578”