Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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You have reached the world’s biggest and best crossword blog. If you are looking for help with the Daily and Sunday Telegraph cryptic crosswords or the Enigmatic Variations advanced cryptic, a total of 13 puzzles a week, then you have come to the right place.
If this is your first time, or for more information about this site, please click on Continue reading “Welcome”
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ****** – Enjoyment *****
Anyone else solve the first two clues straight away and hope that we might have Elgar wearing his pink fluffy slippers this week?  No such luck – this Friday Toughie was as diabolically tough as ever!
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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ****
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. If you’re familiar with the entries in Big Dave’s Usual Suspects and Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing pages, you likely found this entertaining puzzle a smooth solve. If that’s not you, then you might have learned a few new word meanings making sense of it all. Continue reading "DT 31360"
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This puzzle was published on 26th September 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. An excellent and challenging Saturday puzzle from Chris Lancaster that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31355 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment *****
As ever, it took a moment of flitting about the grid to refind my Dharma legs but, once regained, this fell into place very nicely – started gingerly, finished at pace. Nowt obscure and all very stylish: sharp wit, smart constructions and silky surfaces. Up there with his very best, I’d say. The floor is yours.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31359
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **  Enjoyment ***
A pleasant and not too taxing puzzle including no obscurities but a couple of colloquial terms which probably wouldn’t have made it into the Telegraph a decade ago. Many thanks to our setter.
Continue reading “DT 31359”
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
A nice start of the week Toughie from Donnybrook, with a bit of a cozy mystery theme and, probably only if you are me, an earworm too!
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BD Rating – Difficulty */**  Enjoyment ***
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. For me, today’s crossword came between Monday’s and yesterday’s puzzle in terms of difficulty, with one or two clues needing some general knowledge, and a couple more where the parsing eluded me for a while. I counted five famous women, including three TV chefs and two world leaders. Amongst my favourite clues today were 19a, 28a and 20d. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 243 by Beam
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 20/09/26
A fairly gentle Toughie from Beam this week.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 243 (full review)”
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This puzzle was published on 20th September 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and gentle puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable comments. Continue reading “ST 3387 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3765 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty *  – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from a soggy-morninged Wirral. I found this to be a curious puzzle. Three-quarters (especially the southern section) were very much at the Floughie end of the scale, but the North-west was almost its own separate mini-Toughie, with some relative obscurities and a bit more head-scratching required; nothing outrageous, though, and very clearly clued as usual with Chalicea.  1a was my stand-out favourite today, with honourable mentions to 5a, 5d and 20d.
Thank you, Chalicea, for a gentle and pleasant start to the Toughie Week
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle. Â
Work are sending me off to California at the weekend (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…) so next week you will have Gazza to explain and entertain. Thanks in advance to him for filling in and letting me off the leash!