Toughie No 3583 by Beam
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Quintessential Beam today – very tight, very clean. Surprisingly clean-ish, in fact. But don’t worry, the usual wit is still there. 1d, for one! As for difficulty, it really rather depends on whether you’ve got your synonym head on, or not. The bottom half flew in but the top was perhaps slightly knottier. 9a’s “sensitive”, for example, took some thought, though the definition couldn’t have been clearer. In short, a delight, and a lovely way to mark my 100th blog. Where on earth did the time go, eh? All yours.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31083
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
I really enjoyed this perfectly pitched Thursday back page puzzle. Some great surface reads and plenty of clues requiring us to drop or add letters to keep us on our toes. Loads of ticks on my page, including 9a, 22a, 27a, 4d, 6d, 15d and 17d, with my CoD going to 12a – a clever construction and a great word. I will leave you to play “Guess the Setter” as I have no idea. Perhaps he/she will drop in later to take a bow.
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 mystery setter and to the DT Crossword Team.
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