January 20, 2026 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3621

Toughie No 3621 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird

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BD Rating – Difficulty */**   – Enjoyment ****

Hello and welcome to another Toughie week.  I was expecting Chalicea to be on duty today, and I wasn’t disappointed.  I found this a notch or two above her normal difficulty level – definitely not in Floughie territory – and thoroughly enjoyed having to dig around in slightly more obscure areas of vocabulary. I’m also pleased that I can use “synonym” in the hints, unlike last Tuesday.  I have plenty of Smileys over the clues, notably 1a, 2a, 3d and 12a, but my favourite is the very elegant (if not too difficult) 4d.  You’ll need your sticky-backed plastic or other type of adhesive for a few of the clues, but not too many need you to ask a responsible adult for help with scissors!

Thank you, Chalicea, for a fun start to the week!

Please let us know how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle

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DT 31141

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31141
Hints and tips by Huntsman

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BD Rating – Difficulty */**   Enjoyment ****

I thought today’s puzzle perhaps a tad tougher than Tuesdays of late although by no stretch a difficult grid fill. I assume that it’s an Anthony Plumb production & I thought it nicely clued throughout & very enjoyable. I see Chalicea is over in t’other place so that’s guaranteed to be worth a visit.

As usual there are an assortment of musical clips to enjoy or ignore.

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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