August 2025 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Sunday Toughie 188 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 188

by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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proXimal returns with what I found quite tricky, but maybe I was distracted by the tribute to Van Morrison on the BBC last night. It finished at about 01:30 this morning, and it was a close-run thing to parse some before the end.

14a and 16d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I am not too 22a that there are quite a few clues in the SW that remain unhinted, but I hope you find the checkers to fill the grid. A bonus nudge may be available if you ask.

Here we go, Folks…

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EV 1710 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1710 (Hints)

Immutable by Vismut

Hints and tips by Phibs

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Always keen to steal a march on the setter, I told Claude, “A themed crossword puzzle asks us to identify an ‘immutable’ character, and we are required to add coloured circles into the completed grid. Who or what might this immutable character be?”

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ST 3332 (Hints)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3332 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg on this last day of Meteorological Summer.  Personally, I am old fashioned so ‘my’ Summer will end Astronomically on the Autumnal Equinox in 22 days time.

For me, and I stress for me,© Dada still friendly, with a grid that is slightly more ‘wonky’ than the one from two weeks ago, with 3 non-anagram long ‘uns, 6 anagrams (5 partials), 2 lurkers (one reversed), and 1 homophone all in 29 clues in a very asymmetric grid; with 15 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!

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Toughie 3540

Toughie No 3540 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

Thanks to Sparks for an enjoyable puzzle which isn’t too tough (for a Friday). I’ve given it an extra half-star for difficulty because I needed to verify the 1a accidents, the 9a dietary problem and the 5d mythical beast none of which I’d heard of. I can’t find any Nina today – can you?
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DT 31013 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31013

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 23rd August 2025

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, super Saturday puzzle from NYDK that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31013 (Full Review)”

DT 31017

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31017
Hints and tips by Shabbo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Good morning, fellow puzzlers.

RayT is being gentle with us today, or maybe I was fully attuned to his wavelength this fine morning. We are treated to his usual brevity at 5.2 words/clue and it is reassuring to know that he has an ecological conscience when compiling – see 7d. My favourite clues are 24a, 6d, 7d and 23d. Which ones did you like?

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.

Many thanks to Ray and to the DT Crossword Team.

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