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.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ****
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I don’t know who set today’s puzzle, but they did an excellent job! (well, except for mangling Ohm’s Law). Continue reading "DT 30904"
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This puzzle was published on 12th April 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Toughie No 3463 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Another enjoyable puzzle from Kcit. Thanks to him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3463”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30903
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
I don’t know about you, but I found this quite tricky, requiring my full attention throughout. That is not a bad thing, of course, particularly on a Thursday and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Perhaps the slightly unfriendly grid didn’t help, but more likely I was just being a bit slow to unravel some beautifully written clues.
Much to my granddaughter’s disgust, I had never heard of the film franchise at 2d, but the answer was gettable without this knowledge. The England cricketer at 17d of course posed no issues to this sportsman (retired!). For once, I will opt for the Spoonerism at 21a as my CoD – very amusing!
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, setter for a very decent challenge.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty 2.5* – Enjoyment 4.5*
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where, after a pizza and ice cream cake, with seconds, lunch accompanied by two pints of mild I thought I might be too soporific to be able to solve and blog today’s puzzle on my Tuesday evening. Fortunately, it seems that the setter was psychically sympathetic to my situation and has provided a relatively straightforward puzzle.
Sunday Toughie No 167 by Beam
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 6th of April 2025
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This puzzle was published on 06th April 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and witty puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.
Continue reading “ST 3311 (full review)”