Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Friendly wordplay from Silvanus with just a sniff of GK (1a, 12a, etc). Nothing overly exotic and all typically fair. Not really a Toughie – just a very enjoyable crossword. The floor is yours.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, apparently, I have been managing to sleep through overnight thunderstorms!
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), a Dream Team Thursday! There is no doubt that this is the very entertaining work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, Ray T’s swEetheart, and the plain sweetheart in the back pager. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
The first actual Toughie of this week has been set for us by Zenas
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be a step up in difficulty from the previous two days, with one or two more obscure words and a reasonable amount of general knowledge required. Amongst my favourite clues were 1a, 10a, 12a and 2d, but the one I liked best was 14a, which made me laugh once the penny dropped. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 238 by Beam
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 16/08/26
A very gentle puzzle from Beam this week.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 238 (full review)”
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This puzzle was published on 16th August 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A wonderful Sunday prize puzzle from Dada that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of the same for your kind perusal and important feedback. Continue reading “ST 3382 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3745 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome to another Toughie week.
Hudson has given us a puzzle which feels just about the perfect level for a Tuesday Toughie. There’s nothing outrageously obscure (the Scottish chimney being a possible exception but that crops up reasonably regularly) but there are a fair few that required some thinking about. And all that with a good sprinkling of top-notch surfaces. There’s been quite a lot of congestion around the podium, but I’m going with 26a, 12d and 23a just being pipped by 14a. But 4a really needs an honourable mention too. Thank you, Hudson, for a wonderful start to the week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
It’s shaping up to be another pleasant sunny day here in Harpenden so I’ve no excuses, now that the temperature is mercifully more tolerable, for not getting a decent walk in this afternoon.
I thought today’s Anthony Plumb lacked a wee bit of sparkle compared to recent weeks so I’ll be interested to see what others make of it. It was certainly on the gentle side even by Tuesday standards & I’d reckon it easier than yesterday’s puzzle. As ever immaculately clued.
Hudson is over in t’other place with a light delight that is fun & pretty ‘floughie’. Ideal for anyone contemplating dipping their toes into toughie waters for the first time. Whybird will be delighted to hear from you.
As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from my lakeside retreat near Ottawa where summer is gradually beginning to edge toward the wings and I am trying hard to enjoy what little is left before it leaves the stage entirely.
While I have successfully called the setters on a couple of recent puzzles, I don’t believe I’ll press my luck today. I think most solvers will find today’s offering is well-suited to the level of difficulty we expect to start the week.
In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.