Toughie No 3661 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome to another Toughie week.
We have another high-quality puzzle from Hudson today. There is a martial theme, or at least a connection between several of the clues, although I am not sure if there is an underlying reason for the link: I am happy enough to have noticed a theme of any kind! I thought I was heading for solving in Floughie time, but then a combination of solving 15d and parsing 20d and 24a took this comfortably into ** territory. I hope you have your lexicographic secateurs to hand, there’s a fair bit of pruning to be done.
Once the penny dropped for 20d, this jumped right to the top of my prize list by a distance, which is perhaps rather unfair on 13a and 29a, as either of these could have been “Top Clue” in other puzzles. Thank you, Hudson, for a wonderful start to the week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.