August 19, 2026 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3742

Toughie No 3742 by Weatherman

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

Weatherman set us an enjoyable, not very difficult, Toughie, where  the unknowns were fairly clued

Continue reading “Toughie 3742”

DT 31322

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31322
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh

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

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog.  I found today’s puzzle to be the hardest of the week so far, but everything is fairly clued.  I didn’t know the definition in 1a, or the little ‘un in 22a, which has put me off certain dairy products for life!  My favourites were 13a, 28a and 11d.  I also liked the Quickie pun.  Many thanks to our setter.

Continue reading “DT 31322”

Sunday Toughie No 237 (full review)

Sunday Toughie No 237  by Hudson
Full Review by Gazza

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This puzzle was published on 09/08/26

What a lovely surprise to find that Hudson has joined the ranks of the Sunday Toughie setters with this cracking puzzle.

Across Clues

1a Fish cut by sailor (8)
SKIPJACK: a verb to cut or skive off (school, say) and a common word (often followed by ‘tar’) for a sailor. Continue reading “Sunday Toughie No 237 (full review)”

ST 3381 (Full Review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3381

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 9th August 2026

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

Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us a slightly tough puzzle this Sunday that was still enjoyable to solve and now I present to you a full review of his puzzle. Hope to have your valuable feedback and comments. Continue reading “ST 3381 (Full Review)”