Toughie No 3605 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Welcome to the Toughie Week, one and all. Summer is on its way! Let’s just hope it isn’t travelling by train…
One of the benefits of the dark mornings is that the local tawny owls are heading home to roost at a relatively civilised hour, which fits with my normal walk with Lord Alfie. I’ve managed to see them twice at close quarters in the past week, and been alarmed by nearby, loud hooting.
I must confess I was expecting something rather more festive on the crossword front this morning. What we have is the complete opposite, and whilst I did not enjoy the gloomy (not to say apocalyptic) theme early in the day, this has grown on me as I’ve dug around a bit more. Not being very clued up on Saints’ Days, it was only when I started ferreting, that I discovered that 27th Dec is the feast day for St John the Divine. The theme is therefore suitably seasonal, in a cryptic sense entirely suited to the medium! The puzzle is very clever, and there are a couple of clues I thought were great. There are a few “gimmes” to get the ball rolling, and a few obscurities to significantly raise the difficulty level. 10a and 27a get honourable mentions, 14a sneakily gets into second, but my prize today goes to 26d by a fair distance.
Thanks to Donnybrook for the challenge and the learning opportunities.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3605”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31117
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
A Typically Tuesdayish bit of Plumbing (I assume) that I’d rate pretty much on a par with X-Type’s puzzle yesterday in terms of difficulty. No particular favourite clue for me but as ever I thought it nicely clued throughout and perfectly enjoyable. For any looking for a stiffer challenge Donny is in the chair in t’other place & I’m sure Whybird would appreciate comments. As it’s my last blog before Christmas may I take the opportunity to wish all associated with the site festive greetings.
As ever there are an assortment of You Tube tunes & some Fawlty Towers to view if inclined.
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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Sunday Toughie No 203 by Zandio
Review by
Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 14th December 2025
I hope this isn’t out a day early – Gazza has assured me that this puzzle closed for entries at 9:00am.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 203 (Review)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3347
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 14th December 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A pleasant and gentle puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable comments. Continue reading “ST 3347 (Full Review)”