Where new ideas are tried out – only the brave enter into this domain
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **** (from BD)
I am delighted to be able to report that Silvanus, a graduate of Rookie Corner and the NTSPP, has a puzzle published in today’s Independent. BD
What a great sporting week we have just had. The Cheltenham Festival thoroughly entertained through the week with lots superb racing.… Continue reading
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How much did it cost me to assemble the portfolio – £1,570, £1,730, £1,940 or £2,100?
First the easy bit, congratulations to David Broatch, whose correct entry was pulled from the electronic hat by Mrs BD, and so he is this month’s winner of a Hamlyn Telegraph Puzzle Book of his choice.
Now for the complicated bit – not since MPP No 9 back in February 2013 has so much crossword time been spent doing ‘sums’.… Continue reading
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Good Sunday morning from Winnipeg.
Once again, lots of good, and some not so good, rugby yesterday, although the results may not be liked by everyone, especially the bizarre finish to the game in Paris.
Virgilius, in what appears to me to be a benign mood, has provided us with another very typical and very enjoyable Sunday puzzle,
My favourite is 26a.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
And here is Elgar’s 116th toughie! Half a dozen or so clues went in quickly for me, followed by a wee pause, after which progress was fairly steady with plenty of brilliant penny drop moments along the way. There’s a cracking Nina that presents a story using a little bit of cryptic imagination.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Céad míle fáilte from South Staffs this St Patrick’s day morning. Here’s some suitably festive music
A reasonably straightforward Giovanni this week, with some nice anagrams to get you going. On the other hand, it took me ages to work out the Quick Crossword pun…
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined.… Continue reading
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This puzzle was published on Saturday 11th March
BD Rating – Difficulty *– Enjoyment ***
Very straightforward – I quite liked 2d when the penny dropped as to how it worked but I appear to be alone, although I do wonder whether people were biased against the footballer in question or the wordplay of the clue?
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
I found this to be a very gentle Beam puzzle with only the SW corner putting up any kind of a fight. There were a few definitions that I didn’t find totally convincing but it was a pleasant enough puzzle. The early finish has given me more time to study the Cheltenham form in an attempt to recoup some of the last two day’s losses when I have suffered from a bad attack of seconditis.… Continue reading
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BD Rating — Difficulty *** — Enjoyment ***
Hello everyone. This isn’t a Ray T Thursday and that’s the only thing I’m sure about. It doesn’t feel like a Shamus to me which, going on past history, means it probably is – maybe we’ll find out later. I thought some of it was quite difficult but that could be just me.… Continue reading
This puzzle was published on Sunday 5th March
BD Rating – Difficulty **– Enjoyment ***
Morning All! Thanks to crypticsue for keeping the seat warm whilst I had a lovely break at my sister’s in Malaysia (with a short excursion to Cambodia). This was an enjoyable puzzle that just stayed in the two star difficulty range.