Telegraph 25565 and others

[Narbadingi]

I'm getting pretty cheesed off with the Telegraph lately. Just what is going on with the setters? Have the old guard been wheeled out and replaced by a bunch of pretentious encyclopaedia-swallowers (and ones who are pretty bad at setting clues to boot)?

I used to really enjoy the Saturday cryptic, but all the fun's being taken out of it lately and it ends up being a tedious exercise in bookwork and research into obscurity. Not intelligent puzzling, not educational, just crap setting. This Saturday was even worse than last week, which is saying something, and the daily puzzle's been pretty bad too. Let's take Saturday's � 25565. Who'd honestly heard of any of these before yesterday?

Griffon
Hopi
Stannic
Drayage
Highbridge (an insignificant town in Somerset I eventually discovered)
Reaver
Pit Viper
Thready
Blintz

And I've never heard of 'essay' being used in the sense of 'try', and I don't think 'overseeing' is the same as 'overlooking' either.

I feel the Telegraph crossword is becoming increasingly less fun. Is anyone else with me on this one, or am I just being exceptionally dense lately? I only buy the Telegraph for the crossword � which paper has a better puzzle that actually requires brainwork rather than a dictionary from 1608 and a copy of the latest Brittannica? I think I'm about to defect.

[badly]

narbadingi... you are definitely not alone.. this view is shared by myself and several friends. Like you, we think Saturdays xword has changed.. 'overseeing' no - 'overlooking'.yes.
Defect to where?? bet you don't. live in hope.