Toughie No 3553 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from a chilly but sunny Wirral. The past few days have seen the start of the return of the Dee Estuary’s pink-footed geese, so my morning walks with Lord Alfie have been lifted by the sight and sound of the flypasts as they disperse to do goose things in the fields of the North-west. The spectacle will only increase over the next couple of weeks – but it does mean Winter is Coming…
Dada has given us a n excellent, perfect Tuesday-level puzzle today, with plenty of clues that made me smile. I found the North slightly chewier than the South today, which warranted the extra half-star for difficulty. And the more I went through this writing the Blog, the more I enjoyed and appreciated it. 1d, 10a and 19a in particular all floated my boat, but in the end I’ve given my rosette to 18d. Thank you, Dada. Chapeau!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31039
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
It’s me again on Tuesday duty. Huntsman has kindly agreed to swap days this week, as we are off to Jersey at lunchtime for four days. If there are any errors in the blog, I’ll correct them when we get to St Helier. We have never been to the Channel Islands and are looking forward to it.
I found this puzzle to be very accessible with just a couple of clues which required a bit of thought at 28a and 26d. Although it was very light, there was much to enjoy. The artist scratching his bottom at 4d and the underwear infested with insects at 21a made me smile.
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 our setter and to the DT Crossword Team.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31038
Hints and tips by Smylers
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BD Rating – Difficulty ★★ – Enjoyment ★★★
Welcome from Ilkley, where we now have the best butchers in the country. And happy World Rhino Day — here’s one we saw yesterday at the Art of the Brick exhibition in Leeds (also on in Montreal and Schenectady):
(You can click to enlarge this photo, and the other Lego pictures in the hints below.)
Today’s Telegraph crossword has a helpful grid and accessible wordplay, but also several words unfamiliar to me — so it’s probably an ideal puzzle for somebody who’s a beginner at cryptic crosswords but has a good vocabulary.
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A Puzzle by Scintilla (formerly Spartacus)
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Continue reading “Rookie Corner 596”
Sunday Toughie No 191
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A very clever Sunday Toughie I really enjoyed solving last night, some typical Zandio Roman numbers and some great PDMs. The linked 14a and 18a are a particular favourite, along with 27a, but 24a gets the gold today. What were your favourites?
14a and 14d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to fill the grid, and I will give a nudge or two if required, and entertaining Mama Bee permits.
Here We Go…
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Enigmatic Variations 1713 (Hints)
Lost in Translation by Nudd
Hints and tips by Gabriel
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Gemini really wasn’t much help when I submitted the preamble. It just kind of regurgitated – garbage in and garbage out.… Continue reading
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3335 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, while Autumn begins 27 hours and 19 minutes after the blog is published, we are still forecast to have a few very pleasant late Summer days even after a very ‘soggy’ Saturday.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly – one non-anagram long ‘un, 4 anagrams (1 partial), 2 lurkers, and 2 homophones all in a very asymmetric 31 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should/might 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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A Puzzle by Meles
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Continue reading "NTSPP 815"
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31037 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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Continue reading “DT 31037 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3552 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
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