October 24, 2024 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3363

Toughie No 3363 by Serpent
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ****

We have a very enjoyable puzzle from Serpent today. Thanks to him. He often hides something in the grid but I can’t find anything today – can you?

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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DT 30753

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30753
Hints and tips by Shabbo

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Back to normal this week with me on Thursday blogging duty.  RayT has chosen a tricky grid today, with unchecked first letters for the majority of the clues which I am sure is not to everyone’s liking. I found it to be an enjoyable solve, as ever, with no superfluous wording resulting in a parsimonious average of only 5.5 words/clue, to save you doing the sums. I liked the “hearing thing” in 22a and the smooth surface read in 16d.  Which clues were your favourites?

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.
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