EV1748
Martyrdom by Kcit
Solution
Month: June 2026
DT 31257
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31257
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where thunderstorms are becoming more frequent!
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), Dream Team Thursday seems to be becoming a distant memory but there is no doubt that this is the work of a very benevolent Master of Brevity with some lateral thinking required. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, Ray T’s swEetheart, and the plain sweetheart in the back pager with an average of 4.9 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Toughie 3698
Toughie No 3698 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
DT 31256
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31256
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. For me, today’s crossword was the hardest of the week so far, with the SE corner the last to fall – for some reason it took me a while to parse 21d and 26a. Amongst my favourite clues today are 10a, 14a, and the aforementioned 21d and 26a once the penny had dropped, but I’m going for 1a as my clue of the day. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie 226 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 226 by Silvanus
Review by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on the 24th of May 2026
ST 3370 (Full Review)
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3370
A full review by Rahmat Ali
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on 24th May 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Kolkata.… Continue reading
Toughie 3697
Toughie No 3697 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Well this is a genuine Toughie, no worries on that score. I thought the difficulty level was perfectly pitched for a Tuesday. There is plenty of Dada’s characteristic, quirky clueing and if his name hadn’t been plastered across the top of the page, I would have ventured a few small coins on the setter’s identity and been correct for once. 23a piqued my Inner Pedant, 5d gave it a hard poke, and I’ve abraded the top of my head a little trying to parse 25d. 12a made me smile, I liked 14d’s structure, as well as the solution being a great word, but the clear winner of my Gold Star today is the clever, smooth-surfaced 15d. Thanks to Dada for making the Tuesday morning tea work somewhat harder than of late.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
DT 31255
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31255
Hints and tips by Huntsman
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
The much needed rain with hopefully cooler temperatures has arrived so the prospect of a decent night’s kip a realistic prospect to look forward to.
I found today’s puzzle a good bit trickier than the usual Tuesday fare & for me at least more difficult than yesterday’s offering. It didn’t have the feeling of an Anthony Plumb production but I’m probably wrong so it will be interesting to see what others make of it. Anyway I enjoyed the solve & thought it nicely clued throughout.
As usual there is a selection of music 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.
DT 31254
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31254
Hints and tips by Smylers
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ★★ – Enjoyment ★★★★
Welcome to June, and to Monday’s Telegraph crossword. We’re back from a week in Herefordshire to go to the Hay Festival (which is a festival about books, not about hay). Talks enjoyed by various members of the family included those by Susie Dent, Elizabeth Strout, Richard Coles, Ian Hislop, and a couple of Beano writers.