Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *****+ – Enjoyment ****
Another brain-mangler from Elgar – but then what else were you going to do while waiting for Storm Éowyn to go away? This one has a theme with several multi-word clues spread across the grid.
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Today’s offering was an incomplete for me, because I can’t get the Quickie pun and I’m not sure about the parsing of 21a. Trying to solve and hint on a plane was probably not the wisest idea. But I’m sure that the commentariat will assist with both issues. Continue reading "DT 30832"
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This puzzle was published on 18th January 2024
BD Rating –Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Toughie No 3415 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I thought that Silvanus had increased his difficulty level very slightly with this Toughie but the quality and enjoyment is as high as ever. Many thanks to him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3415”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30831
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
I loved this! My first ever 5* (I think) for enjoyment. I will happily forgo my blogging fee for today!
Silvanus is on Toughie duty today and this is definitely not RayT, so I am running a book on Guess the Setter. Senf has promised to bring a couple of toonies all the way from Canada as prize money, although he doesn’t know this yet! No point in trying to bribe me, as I have no idea who wrote this gem, but I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I found it quite challenging in parts, so no doubt there will be some who complain that it is too difficult, but I would suggest that you just take a moment to reread the clues and admire the skill of this setter. It is really difficult to pick a Clue of the Day, but if pushed, I would probably go for the very clever 9a. A nod of appreciation to the Quickie Pun as well.
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.
Great stuff. Thank you clever setter.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
Four quite difficult mini crosswords which I solved corner by corner in an anti-clockwise direction – SE, NE, NW, SW
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where borrowing some words from John Denver:
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go (well almost),
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane,
But I do know when I’ll be back again.… Continue reading
Sunday Toughie No 155 by proXimal
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 12th of January 2025
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This puzzle was published on 12th January 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, friendly puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and significant feedback.
Continue reading “ST 3299 (full review)”