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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Enigmatic Variations 1767 (Hints)
GREAT LEADERS by VISMUT
Hints and tips by Gabriel / Jpeg
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Gemini wasn’t much help this time – though it did cough up the homily that “Chambers (2016) is your Bible” (request to the editors: please work with the AI companies and make all your content available to them!).… Continue reading
Sunday Toughie No 245
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I found this from proXimal at the tougher end of my ability spectrum, not because of the Spooner that fell early doors, but one of the compound anagrams had a tricky to spot definition in the middle. I was on the verge of phoning a friend just before the penny dropped!
I hope you have an easier time than I did, but I will try and give a nudge if you ask.
The brass bands on Wetherby Ings are finished for the season, so even if we have a blue sky today, Mama Bee and I won’t be going far
Here we go, Folks…
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the word FR*ST is beginning to appear in weather forecasts and reports!
For me, and I stress for me,© same as last week, Dada very friendly once I had cracked two or three clues. Four long ‘uns, six anagrams (two partials), one lurker, and two homophones, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 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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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ****** – Enjoyment *****
Anyone else solve the first two clues straight away and hope that we might have Elgar wearing his pink fluffy slippers this week? No such luck – this Friday Toughie was as diabolically tough as ever!
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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ****
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. If you’re familiar with the entries in Big Dave’s Usual Suspects and Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing pages, you likely found this entertaining puzzle a smooth solve. If that’s not you, then you might have learned a few new word meanings making sense of it all. Continue reading "DT 31360"
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This puzzle was published on 26th September 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. An excellent and challenging Saturday puzzle from Chris Lancaster that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31355 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment *****
As ever, it took a moment of flitting about the grid to refind my Dharma legs but, once regained, this fell into place very nicely – started gingerly, finished at pace. Nowt obscure and all very stylish: sharp wit, smart constructions and silky surfaces. Up there with his very best, I’d say. The floor is yours.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31359
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
A pleasant and not too taxing puzzle including no obscurities but a couple of colloquial terms which probably wouldn’t have made it into the Telegraph a decade ago. Many thanks to our setter.
Continue reading “DT 31359”