Welcome to Big Dave’s Crossword Blog
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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”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31254
Hints and tips by Smylers
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BD Rating – Difficulty ★★ – Enjoyment ★★★★
Welcome to June, and to Monday’s Telegraph crossword. We’re back from a week in Herefordshire to go to the Hay Festival (which is a festival about books, not about hay). Talks enjoyed by various members of the family included those by Susie Dent, Elizabeth Strout, Richard Coles, Ian Hislop, and a couple of Beano writers.
Continue reading “DT 31254”
A Puzzle by Tater
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Continue reading “Rookie Corner 631”
Sunday Toughie No 227
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A generous 32 clues from Beam today, all the trademarks are here. I have hinted at 17 clues, so I can give a nudge if needed.
I went a bit 2d OTT with The Who today, but feel free to ignore some or all of the music links.
I was hoping to match Senf’s image of John Halpern/Dada with one of Ray Terrell/Beam but I have failed to find a pic. Maybe you can help.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 227 (Hints)”
Enigmatic Variations 1749 (Hints)
Connection by Ranunculus
Hints and tips by Gabriel
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Gemini was quite excited by the opportunity to search for an innovator and a connection and proposed several candidate innovations and inventors – the most promising were: “The Electric Battery”, Volta (5), symbols=”+,-”, and “The Electric Telegraph”, Morse (5), symbols = • (Dot) and – (Dash).… Continue reading
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3371 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where last week’s 7 day weather forecast proved to be correct – imagine that! Ponder this, at midnight tonight, just before Flaming June starts, 2026 will be 41.4% complete! Apart from solving crossword puzzles, have you used your time wisely?
For me, and I stress for me,© at last, Dada quite friendly! One long ‘un, seven anagrams (two partials) with some creative indicators (TDS will like those), two lurkers, and one homophone, all in an asymmetric 29 clues; I can’t provide 14½ hints so I am being generous and giving you 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid which means you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3371 (Hints)”
A Puzzle by duncanjwitham
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Continue reading "NTSPP 851"
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31253 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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Continue reading “DT 31253 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3696 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *****+ – Enjoyment *****
There is one thing the solver can be certain about when it is Elgar Friday is that there will be no doubt whatsoever that we will have a properly tough Toughie to solve Continue reading “Toughie 3696”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31247
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 23rd May 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and straightforward Saturday puzzle from Twmbarlwm that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31247 (Full Review)”