Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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This puzzle was published on 6th September 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, entertaining 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 31025 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
Gently chucklesome, yet whip-smart – a whisper of ©Light GK (2d, etc), some sly indicators (e.g.… Continue reading
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ****
No doubting who set this one. Unlike your usual Thursday blogger I’m too lazy to do the maths but it’s the usual impressively low average word count & cleverly concise clueing. I found it pretty straightforward to complete but had some hesitation where underlining the definitions was concerned. Many thanks to Ray T for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Got to dash off for golf so I hope the hints are error free.
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.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where the Red Scarf has not been required since its outing last Thursday as we are now enjoying some very pleasant late Summer temperatures.
It is good to see so many new commenters de-lurking recently, and I hope that they continue to comment, but where in the world is Miss Fifi, who some of us met at The Bridge House in January?
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), that was fun, all in an economical 28 clues so I expect that Shabbo would suggest that I should take a pay cut! I suspect that the setter may be the same as for my last mid-week blog two weeks ago. But, to my knowledge, unless he or she claimed that puzzle on some obscure social media site, his or her identity remains a mystery today.
Sunday Toughie No 188 by proXimal
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 31st of July 2025
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This puzzle was published on 31st August 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Toughie No 3545 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Hello and welcome to Toughie Tuesday! I am still coping diligently with the views over the loch towards Bengairn and the ever-changing moods of Dumfries and Galloway’s scenery, with supporting cast of buzzards, red kites, kestrels, peregrines, ravens and a very impressive hirundine roost. … Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31027
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
Sorry, but it’s me again! Huntsman and I have swapped blogging days this week, so you have his contribution to look forward to on Thursday.
I thought today’s puzzle was light and accessible with some gentle misdirection to keep us on our toes. 32 concise clues perfectly pitched for a Tuesday. I only mention the number of clues (30 is probably the average) in the vain hope of a pay rise. One thing that I have learnt to do over the last couple of years of blogging is to pretend to be busy with one eye on the clock and the 11.00 deadline. If I do it convincingly enough, the current Mrs Shabbo invariably volunteers to make my breakfast.
My ticks were for the goods in transit at 7d, the Yorkshire river’s characteristics at 9d and the perils of getting old at 16d. 23d was my LOI, as I wrestled for a while with the definition.
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.