Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
Silvanus has staked his claim to a regular slot on the Tuesday Toughie schedule. As you would expect, the cluing is immaculate. The thought of taking something to Paddington in 16a amused me, but although the surface reading of 15d starts well (vermilion-coloured crab wandering around island) it seems to taper off. Continue reading “Toughie 2382”
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I loved this Silvanus puzzle, especially (for obvious reasons) 3d. Tuesday is fast becoming the best day of the Toughie week. Continue reading “Toughie 2362”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
You can rely on Silvanus for precise cluing, and this puzzle is no exception. I particularly like the discovery as to how the answer to 2 Down could be derived and the anagram at 21 Across. Continue reading “Toughie 2339”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Silvanus seems very much at home in this Tuesday slot. This is another excellent puzzle with a wide variety of different clues all making for a pleasurable, if brief, solve. Continue reading “Toughie 2319”
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Tuesday’s have become an excellent day in Toughieland, and this puzzle from our own Silvanus is no exception. No particular favourites, and the Spoonerism was the only groan. Continue reading “Toughie 2303”
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Silvanus has, for me at least, upped the difficulty level while maintaining the enjoyment. There were several clues that caused me to dig deeper than usual, especially the deceptive 8d which was my last one. Continue reading “Toughie 2287”
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
There are several features you will always find in a Silvanus puzzle – immaculate cluing, a variety of different clue types and scrupulous attention to detail, to name but three. Together these go to make up a very enjoyable puzzle. Continue reading “Toughie 2271”
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
It took me a little while to get going on this one but once I’d established a base camp in the SW corner it all proceeded in a serene fashion with no great problems. It’s very enjoyable with smooth clues throughout as we’ve come to expect from this setter. Thanks Silvanus. Continue reading “Toughie 2256”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Kitty is taking a break from blogging (not too long we hope) so I’ve been drafted in for a one-off Tuesday matinee. That’s no hardship as we have a fairly gentle but very enjoyable puzzle from Silvanus with his usual smooth surfaces throughout.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Hi all. Another very pleasant puzzle from Silvanus to get the four-day week of Toughies underway. And a four-day weekend to look forward to as well! I’m not quite sure how to rate the difficulty because most of it yielded easily, but there were a couple of stragglers and one (17d) which stubbornly refused to budge: I stared at for a few minutes at the end, teased by the helpful-looking checking letters, before giving in to temptation and using the Chambers app.