Toughie No 3589 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Konnichiwa! Which I have learned is the appropriate Japanese greeting for those viewing this shortly after the GMT publication time. Thank you to Shabbo for filling in whilst I was on my travels – very much appreciated! Cranes, eagles and owl all successfully tracked down and “ticked” along with many other avian delights, with the added bonus of great food, beautiful scenery (and some not-quite-so-beautiful fishing ports) and atmospheric Onsens. And plenty of 12d’s illustration in the moat of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.
I was delighted to see Chalicea’s name on the page today; just the ticket for a return to duty, and I wasn’t disappointed. I found this to be reasonably straightforward, although leavened with some sneaky bits of “general not-knowledge” that I had to check. The clues are all clear and elegantly concise – definitely to my taste, although some of the NW corner held out a little longer than the rest. I particularly like 19a and 26d, and 6d also makes the podium for the solution being a lovely word. Thanks to Chalicea for such a warm welcome on my return to the Big Dave Blogosphere!
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.