Toughie No 3581 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
Whybird is away for a couple of Tuesdays and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of filling in for him. This is my debut on Toughie blogging duty, so please be gentle with me. I don’t know whether the DT uses different grids for Toughies, but I have never blogged a puzzle with only 24 clues. Sadly this and the lack of a Quickie Pun will weaken my negotiating position when I approach Gazza for a pay rise!
I got the four long answers first and then made reasonably steady progress until grinding to a halt in the SW corner. 17a, 16d and 18d delayed me for far too long but with hindsight, of course, they probably shouldn’t have done. It’s a good job the blogging deadline for Toughies is 14.00 and not 11.00!
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 Weatherman and to the DT Crossword Team.