Where new ideas are tried out – only the brave enter into this domain
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Notabilis is living up to his cheeky parrot name. A great puzzle which delights in its devious clueing, without being impossibly hard. Very original and a joy to solve. There is even a Nina to feast on. Magnificent.
As always, the definitions are underlined in the clues below.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment */**
Good Morning from a rather damp, dreich and dismal Shropshire. I have been given the opportunity to review this Pangram puzzle from Mr Manley as Deep Threat is engaged elsewhere. It’s been a while since I last blogged – so please forgive me if I’m a bit rusty.… Continue reading
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This puzzle was published on Saturday 25th February
BD Rating – Difficulty *– Enjoyment ***/****
Another improved, if fairly straightforward, Saturday crossword, but given the number of other crossword-related things I had to do on the day, I wasn’t complaining. I would point out the number of times a letter had to be taken off something and also the wrong definition of 20d, which would have led to it only getting ‘average’ enjoyment stars. However, there are some splendid surface readings so I’ve awarded a half star to recognise their part in my solving entertainment
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
A pleasant puzzle that went in smoothly apart from a slight hold-up in the NW corner. When writing the blog I discovered that I hadn’t looked at 24 down which turned out to be a word I’d never heard of though the answer was obvious from the wordplay.… Continue reading
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BD Rating — Difficulty ** — Enjoyment ***/****
Hello everyone. It’s not a Ray T Thursday so those of you who don’t get along with him can relax – I’m not going to make any wild guesses as to who set today’s crossword as I’ve been wrong many times before. I didn’t think it was too difficult although there were a few that held me up at the end.… Continue reading
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This puzzle was published on Sunday 19th February
BD Rating – Difficulty *– Enjoyment *****
So much to enjoy in yet another splendid Sunday puzzle. I bet even Kath had a whole galaxy of stars by ‘clues she liked’; I certainly did, although I’ve managed to whittle down the list to nominate 20a as my favourite Across clue and 26d as my top favourite Down clue.
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
There’s nothing to terrify the thoroughbreds in this pleasant puzzle from Samuel. I didn’t know the Hobbit or the French composers but in both cases the checking letters and the wordplay soon sorted me out. Thanks to Samuel.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared with the puzzle and what you thought of it.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty *– Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
We were not going to mention our weather again this week but it is so spectacularly wonderful at present that we could not ignore it. When we woke this morning there was almost zero visibility because of a thick fog from the river.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome one and all to Big Dave’s Crossword Blog, Toughie Corner. It’s another feast day: one with religious significance for some, but for heathens like me a thin excuse to scarf down some extra food while conveniently choosing not to observe the fast it precedes. … Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Fat Tuesday edition of the back-page blog, coming to you this week from across the pond. There’s not much in the way of food and drink in this puzzle, so if you’re seeking sustenance I suggest heading over to the Toughie blog later because, as this picture shows 
, kitties do love their pancakes.… Continue reading