January 16, 2025 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3411

Toughie No 3411 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

Karla has upped the difficulty level a bit from his last Toughie but this is still relatively straightforward, albeit with a couple of words that I didn’t know. I enjoyed solving the puzzle – thanks Karla.
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DT 30825

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30825
Hints and tips by Shabbo

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

There I was thinking that perhaps we had a different compiler today, when I came across our setter’s calling cards, confirming that it is indeed our regular alternate Thursday master of brevity (5.2 words/clue).  A most enjoyable puzzle, with my joint CoD going to 24a and 9d. A couple of definitions that I needed to check, but otherwise nothing to frighten the runners at 23d. Three “men” appear in 30a, 2d and 7d (all clued differently, of course) and there are only three anagrams to get your teeth into.

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.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Thank you setter.

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