A Puzzle by Chalicea
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Month: August 2026
DT 31313 (Hints)
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31313 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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Toughie 3736
Toughie No 3736 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
If I hadn’t struggled so mightily to parse two of the clues, I might have said that I really enjoyed this proper Friday Toughie but I still can’t parse one of them (and none of the three crossword-solving ‘friends I phoned’ could help until I got an email just after the blog was published. I spotted the theme quite early on in the solving process – apparently it is the centenary of Britain’s first Grand Prix [the names of eleven British Formula One champions are to be found in the Across solutions, some of them crossing over two solutions, one name doing double duty for father and son with that surname]
DT 31312
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31312
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Continue reading "DT 31312"
DT 31307 (Full Review)
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31307
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 1st August 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. An excellent Saturday puzzle from Chris Lancaster that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31307 (Full Review)”
Toughie 3735
Toughie No 3735 by Django
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Solid stuff from Django today, with his usual flourishes. 1a tickled me from the off. I once filed a piece for The Independent about Britain’s “poshest” dump. There were working tumble-dryers discarded there willy-nilly – one still in its box, quickly snapped up by the hawk-eyed manager. There was even an on-site shop to sell the best of the plunder that included a W-reg Ford Fiesta (with MOT) and a speedboat. That’s Dorset for you!
DT 31311
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31311
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** Enjoyment ****
This is the trickiest puzzle of the week so far which is just right for a Thursday and I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to today’s setter.
Continue reading “DT 31311”
Toughie 3734
Toughie No 3734 by Prime
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
An excellent mid-week Toughie
DT 31310
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31310
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 crossword fairly challenging for a Wednesday. A reasonable amount of general knowledge is needed: there are several artistic and literary references, and some familiarity with Indian nobility is useful. My favourite clues today are the Spoonerism in 1d and the hapless prince in 26a. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie 235 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 235 by Silvanus
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 26th of July 2026
As this is my last review blog, and the hints blog was rather brief, I have gone a bit overboard today. I will continue hinting on Sundays, but Gazza will be reviewing the Sunday Toughie going forward
I hope I have not made the mistake of not checking the fodder for anagrams and apologise to Light for that error last week.