Sunday Toughie No 173 by Light
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 18th of May 2025
Month: May 2025
ST 3317 (Full Review)
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3317
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 18th May 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A highly entertaining puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable feedback. Continue reading “ST 3317 (Full Review)”
Toughie 3485
Toughie No 3485 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
Tis a rare Tuesday treat to be gifted a Weatherman – he’s back with a sharp but light touch.… Continue reading
DT 30937
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30937
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
More much needed overnight rain here in Harpenden & a distinctly chillier feel to the day than of late.
Today’s puzzle will certainly be welcome by those who didn’t get along with yesterday’s tougher than usual Monday offering. As with last week this was about as Typically Tuesdayish as it gets from a Plumb production & maybe even gentler. Decidedly quiptic & once again ideal for the less experienced cryptic solver. As usual hints plus the usual assortment of clips are provided should they be required.
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.
DT 30936
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30936
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa, where King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive this afternoon for a quick overnight stay. Tomorrow, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne opening the new session of Parliament before they depart later in the day.
Hopefully, they will be blessed with a bit of decent weather during their visit – something that has been in short supply lately. Although we did experience a warm, sunny day yesterday, the weather has been unseasonably cold and rainy for the past couple of weeks. I read with envy Senf’s accounts of the warm temperatures in Western Canada which would normally arrive here a couple of days later. However, lately they have failed to make an appearance. He must either be hoarding the warm weather or perhaps he has forwarded it by Canada Post.
I found today’s puzzle more challenging than recent offerings. I did enjoy it although I would have enjoyed it far more if I weren’t working to deadline. It does not help that ever since the new Telegraph Puzzles website was introduced, the puzzles have invariably been posted late – sometimes by as much as 45 minutes (the delay was about 30 minutes today). This is a major inconvenience to bloggers on this side of the pond who prepare the blog the evening before it appears on Big Dave’s website. It may also, at least in part, account for the recent dearth of kitties on Friday.
In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.
Rookie Corner 579
Sunday Toughie 174 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 174
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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proXimal gave me a rather stern test last night, and I had to email a friend to see the standards (thanks Gazza and Mike. A spoonerism to start and a couple of compound anagrams sign this better than any byline
We have a generous 16a and 16d clues and I have hinted half, I hope you get the checkers to solve this fine puzzle but I will try and give a nudge or two if required.
Time to take Mama Bee out for coffee and a listen to the brass bands in Wetherby. I will help if I can and if the WiFi by The Ings is up to it
Here we go, Folks…
EV 1696 (Hints)
Enigmatic Variations 1696 (Hints)
Airy by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Phibs
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Dave Hennings’ database at xwdb.info tells us that today’s setter has had at least 186 barred puzzles published under her aliases Chalicea and Curmudgeon, and that’s before any collaborations are taken into account. The first appeared in the Magpie magazine in October 2009, which indicates an average of something close to one every month since. Wow!
ST 3318 (Hints)
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3318 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the sun is shining and the birds are singing, beer and wine in plentiful supply, what more can one ask for.
For me, and I stress for me©, Dada very friendly with an anagram fest – eight of them (two partials), one lurker, and one homophone all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. And, remember, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 13a, 26a, 3d, 14d, and 22d.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.