Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Toughie No 3773 by Shabbo
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Welcome to another Toughie Week. Thanks to Gazza for filling in last week whilst I was toiling away in the Santa Clara area: Anna’s Hummingbird, Least and Elegant terns, Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher, White Pelican and Northern Harrier were amongst the incidental avian highlights.
We have an excellent puzzle from Shabbo today (and a rare example of being right with my morning “guess the setter” game). There’s nothing too difficult, but the puzzle is very well crafted with generally concise but smooth-surfaced clues. 17a, 20d, 24a and 27a (lovely word) all stood out for me, but my absolute favourite today was the wonderful 1d – perfect on all fronts. Thanks to Shabbo for another cracker!
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***/****
A miserable start to the morning here in Harpenden though the forecast promises a dry afternoon so I’ll make a judgement later as to whether it’s sensible to take my wheezing chest onto the golf course. Having been firmly entrenched in the Slough of Despond after 4 opening defeats, 10 goals conceded & none scored my team’s impressive 4-1 thumping of Newcastle at home last night for a 2nd successive victory has lightened the mood considerably – if we can travel to a struggling Spurs next Monday & get a result I’ll start to really believe we can stay in the division.
Today’s puzzle is unmistakably an Anthony Plumb production & as Senf says it was Typically Tuesdayish. I’d rate it about on a par with yesterday in terms of difficulty though there were maybe one or two elements to it that required some GK. As ever it was nicely clued throughout & it was an enjoyably brisk solve.
Our old Thursday blogger is on duty over in t’other place with another of his delightfully gentle Toughies that I cannot recommend highly enough. It really is no more difficult than the back-pager & is great fun so give it a try if you never venture to the other side. Whybird (if back from his travels) will be delighted to hear your thoughts.
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.
Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadians, including my Monday blogging partner Falcon. And if you aren’t Canadian, maybe you can think of something else to be thankful for today?
Here we’re in the middle of Ilkley Literature Festival. So far we’ve been entertained by poets Brian Bilston and Pam Ayres, informed by John Kampfner, and introduced to a couple of new-to-me novelists, at which we were given proof copies of their books due out in April. One of next weekend’s talks is crossword-related: Alys Cummings is talking about her debut novel Murder Most Cryptic. If that sounds like your kind of thing, come and join us: buy a ticket and treat yourself to a trip to Ilkley.
Sunday Toughie No 246
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A second Sunday Toughie from Hudson, and I found it a tad easier than proXimal last week. The usual delays at Telegraph Towers at the start of the month didn’t happen, and I got off to a flying start at about 23:20.
I had to consult our golf correspondent to check 1a. Thanks, Andy. Some very nice surfaces here, and I don’t think it is too Toughie for a Sunday.
16a and 14d clues, and I have hinted at half. A couple of deeper dives into the BRB thesaurus and dictionary were required (14a 22d), but they were there.
I will try and give a nudge if you get stuck; just ask
Here we go, Folks…
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The first Skylark puzzle I blogged was EV 1569, back in December 2022.
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the mild Autumn continues but probably not for much longer. However, no negative temperatures in this week’s version of the 14 day forecast.
Two weeks ago, in response to stanXYZ, I stated that I would explain why a reversal can work better than a three letter anagram that probably involves moving only one letter. Some time ago, possibly pre-Covid, there was a two element clue for SANGRIA. The first element was based on a synonym of SANG and the second was indicated as an anagram of AIR which, in my opinion and although it involves moving two letters, would have been better clued as a reversal.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada about the friendliest he gets. Four long ‘uns, six anagrams (four partials), one lurker, and one homophone, all in a symmetric not great value for money 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, 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! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
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!
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Toughie No 3772 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Sparks for a very enjoyable puzzle containing some cunning bits of misdirection.… Continue reading