December 21, 2025 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Sunday Toughie 204 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 204


by Dada

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

 

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Well, it is not the first time we have had Dada here and in the other prize Sunday slot, as no one has yet claimed yesterday’s SPP, maybe he has had a trifecta!

A slightly less than normal 13a and 13d clues today, and I have hinted less than half. The 6d 22a combo fooled me and I had to ask for help (thanks Lie-In-King). I am still not 100% convinced by my answer so the mythical is yours today.

Here We Go…

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EV 1726 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1726 (Hints)

Gripping Yarns by Luxor

Hints and tips by Phibs

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I asked Claude, “A themed crossword puzzle has the title ‘Gripping Yarns’. On the basis that this title is unlikely to refer to riveting tales, what might the theme of the puzzle be?”

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ST 3348 (Hints)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3348 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

OK, let me try this again!  A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this blog is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.

On Thursday, we experienced blizzard conditions, with winds gusting to over 55mph and temperatures in the minus 20s before the mythical ‘feels like’ was taken into consideration, resulting from an Atmospheric River that originated somewhere over the Pacific Ocean reinforced by an Alberta Clipper once it had crossed the Rockies and ‘running into’ a Polar Vortex over Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with four long ‘uns, six anagrams (one partial), two lurkers (one reversed), and no homophones in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!

If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!

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