Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Toughie No 3724 by Dharma
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Enjoyable but very gentle for a Friday Toughie – thanks to Dharma. Having a single 3-letter anagram did seem slightly odd and I wondered whether there had been a last-minute change to what had been intended to be an anagram-free puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3724”
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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I found today’s grid fill fairly straightforward, but parsing some clues took some serious head-scratching. Perhaps I’m just tired. I have just installed a new plug-in that restores comment editing and deletion following the recent upgrade to the site’s core software, so feel free to type fast and correct up to 8 minutes later. Continue reading "DT 31294"
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This puzzle was published on 11th July 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, friendly Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and valuable comments. Continue reading “DT 31289 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Pretty straight(forward). 11a’s dramatist pushed my memory and 16a reminded me that I’ve never known how to spell his name. But both are generously clued and, as such, this was more of a skip than a jump. The floor is yours to tell me I’ve got the ratings absolutely spot-on yet again … or not!
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BD Rating – Difficulty 3* – Enjoyment 5*
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where yesterday I visited my GP for my annual ‘MOT Inspection’ and the verdict is that, as long as I keep taking the tablets, I am fit for purpose for another 12 months.
Apologies for the false start yesterday but there was nothing to see in terms of hints and the necessary ‘adjustment’ was quickly made. I have given myself a severe talking to and it will not happen again, at least not until the next time, as I do not want to lose my Christmas bonus! 
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), there is no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity but he seems to have upped the ante compared to recent weeks. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, Ray T’s swEetheart, but not the plain sweetheart, in the back pager with an average of 5.06 words per clue. 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 ****
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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 reasonably friendly for a Wednesday. Amongst my favourites were 26a, 6d and 9d, but my clue of the day goes to the potty-mouthed Swedes in 4a. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 232 by proXimal
Review by
Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 5th July 2026
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This puzzle was published on 5th July 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us an enjoyable solve this Sunday and now I present to you a full review of his puzzle. Hope to have your valuable feedback and comments. Continue reading “ST 3376 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3721 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
Welcome to the Toughie Week.
Dada has given us a cracker to get things started: lots of inventive and misleading clues with smooth surfaces. Perfect for a Tuesday I think – plenty that needs the old cogs to be given a spin or two, but nothing that didn’t yield to a little bit of lateral thinking, and a few “gimmes” to get the ball rolling. 4d, 10d, 23a, 26d and 28a all get big ticks from me today, but it almost would have been easier just to refer to the list below; there are so many good ‘uns. 26d gets top spot for the combination of conciseness, surface and misdirection. Thanks, Dada, for an absolute delight.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.