Kcit – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3027

Toughie No 3027 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment **

I’m afraid my enjoyment of this puzzle was reduced a lot by the number of clues requiring the insertion and/or deletion of single letters.

Thanks to Kcit.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.… Continue reading

Toughie 3003

Toughie No 3003 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty */**Enjoyment ***

We seem to have had a reversal of the usual order of Toughie difficulty so far this week with this puzzle being as straightforward as any Toughie in recent times.Continue reading

Toughie 2971

Toughie No 2971 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/****Enjoyment ****

My progress through this puzzle was steady rather than speedy. Thanks to Kcit for an enjoyable challenge.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.… Continue reading

Toughie 2951

Toughie No 2951 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Thanks to Kcit for today’s puzzle which involves a lot of inserting and deleting of individual letters. The four three-letter answers make a pattern.

I can’t satisfactorily parse 7d so any better ideas than mine for this one would be most welcome.… Continue reading

EV 1562 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1562 (Hints)

Loss by Kcit

Hints and tips by The Numpties

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Kcit needs no introduction for EV solvers. Dave Hennings’ crossword database tells us that he has been setting them since 1993. We know he will give us a challenge and this crossword is no exception to that norm.… Continue reading

Toughie 2931

Toughie No 2931 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***/****

Thanks to Kcit for an entertaining puzzle containing two first-rate all-in-one clues for which I’ve awarded an additional half-star for enjoyment. There is a Nina for which you need to arrange the four three-letter answers in a specific order.Continue reading

Toughie 2903

Toughie No 2903 by Kcit

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment **

Kcit has provided today’s Toughie and he’s included lots of reversals. I spent as long trying to parse 2d as I did on the rest of the puzzle and I still can’t crack it so if you can do please let me know the secret and stop me puzzling about it in this hot weather.Continue reading

Toughie 2851

Toughie No 2851 by Kcit

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Thanks to Kcit for today’s Toughie. I did notice when writing the hints that the wordplay involves a great deal of deleting first and last letters.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.… Continue reading

EV 1537 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1537 (Hints)

Additive by Kcit

Hints and tips by The Numpties

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Kcit needs no introduction for EV solvers. Dave Hennings’ crossword database tells us that he has been setting them since 1993. This will be his 69th.

Preamble: When the initial grid is complete, the bottom row will be blank, and the central across entry will contain four blank cells (skipped by down entries), adjacent to four components.Continue reading