Toughie No 2411 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
I hope that you are all taking care and coping in these troubling times. I made my weekly trip to Sainsbury’s this morning and had to queue 50 minutes in a long spaced-out line snaking round the car park before getting into the store – the weather was fine and there was quite a bit of banter exchanged (at a distance) between some of us in the queue so it wasn’t too much of a chore but it wouldn’t be much fun in the rain.… Continue reading
Toughie No 2394 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
The only (small) difficulty was in spotting the anagram fodder for several of the clues – the rest was plain sailing. Continue reading “Toughie 2394”
Toughie No 2378 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Donnybrook makes it simple today with a mix of easy clues with even easier ones, with 10a being the only clue that would have been out-of-place in a backpage puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 2378”
Toughie No 2366 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Measured as a Toughie, I found this to be fairly easy. Less experienced solvers may think differently if they haven’t previously seen constructs like shopper = one who shops or betrays (13a), near meaning tight or miserly (1d), and splitting the answer to 9d as (3-11). Continue reading “Toughie 2366”
Toughie No 2351 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Another excellent puzzle from Donnybrook – there’s little more I can say. Continue reading “Toughie 2351”
Toughie No 2332 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A very pleasant puzzle which didn’t pose too many difficulties – thanks to Donnybrook.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of it.… Continue reading
Toughie No 2316 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment **
We have a very gentle puzzle today, most of which I thought could easily have appeared on the back page. Thanks to Donnybrook.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.… Continue reading
Toughie No 2299 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Another great puzzle from Donnybrook. The answer to 11a reminded me of an anecdote, recounted below, from a job in Glasgow some 25 years ago – we stayed in a hotel in East Kilbride (Glasgow’s equivalent of Milton Keynes) as our usual hotel (The Pond, now the Leonardo Inn, at Anniesland) was fully booked. Continue reading “Toughie 2299”
Toughie No 2283 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The handful of lesser-known words were clued in such a way they could be worked out then checked in Chambers. Continue reading “Toughie 2283”
Toughie No 2267 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
I struggled with some of the clues but looking back the only ones that involved something I had never encountered were the Chinese port in 10 Across and the American “spin” in 7 Down. This was certainly not a typical (Fluffy) Tuesday puzzle! Continue reading “Toughie 2267”