Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31045
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
Another lovely sunny autumnal day perfect for an afternoon of golf at Centurion.
We have another offering of typically gentle Plumbing from the Prof complete with the usual plethora of single letter insertions. I’d rate it about on a par with yesterday in terms of difficulty with maybe a little more to it in terms of the parsing. For any yet to try a puzzle over in t’other place or to complete one unaided then today is the day as Chalicea’s ‘floughie’ is certainly no more difficult than this one so I hope Whybird’s review gets plenty of comments.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31041
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
It’s shaping up to be another nice day here in Harpenden so an afternoon of golf in autumnal sunshine looks on the cards. I need the exercise as my backside won’t stray far from the sofa while the Ryder Cup is on over the next two days. I’m on the tee starting golfers off on Sunday but should be done in time to watch the singles action on the final day. Fingers crossed for Luke’s team.
I was very grateful for a gentle puzzle from Ray T this morning as it was nearly 1pm by the time I got home from a gig at the Brixton Academy. Suffice to say ‘twas a bit of struggle getting out of bed when the alarm went off & confess to feeling more than a bit mushy brained & bleary eyed this morning.
As ever an enjoyable puzzle today from Mr Brevity & one that ought not to present too many difficulties.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31033
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
Fairly straightforward Plumbing today which ought not to pose too many difficulties. That said under time pressure I couldn’t see the parsing at 8d so phoned the DT helpline (aka Shabbo). As ever succinctly clued & with the usual high quota of single letter abbreviations. I did enjoy the puzzle but also thought it somewhat lacking in the sort of witty surfaces that characterise AP’s best puzzles. It’ll be interesting to see what others think.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31029
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ****
No doubting who set this one. Unlike your usual Thursday blogger I’m too lazy to do the maths but it’s the usual impressively low average word count & cleverly concise clueing. I found it pretty straightforward to complete but had some hesitation where underlining the definitions was concerned. Many thanks to Ray T for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Got to dash off for golf so I hope the hints are error free.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31015
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ****
It’s reasonably bright for the moment here in Harpenden but the forecast says there’s some much needed wet stuff due to arrive before too long.
If SJB’s comment yesterday is correct then fans of Anthony Plumb have a double dose of plumbing to enjoy today as one of his puzzles features in the last of Vintage series. No idea if I reviewed it (if so can’t recall it) but it was a light delight which I completed a good bit quicker than this one. I thought today’s puzzle extremely enjoyable with some excellent surfaces reads & a good splash of humour.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31009
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
It’s slowly starting to brighten up a bit here in Harpenden this morning so looks perfect for this afternoon’s scheduled battle with bats & ball on the links.
Today’s Plumb production is a reasonably straightforward proposition in terms of filling in the grid though I found one of the whys & a couple of the required synonyms less obvious. It’ll be interesting to see what others think.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31003
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
It’s a lovely sunny day here in Harpenden this morning & it looks like it’ll develop into a scorcher so I’m still debating whether it’s too hot for golf.
Today’s Plumb production is a pretty gentle affair. Enjoyable enough but I can’t honestly say that I thought it on a par with last week’s cracker. Maybe that’s just me so it will be interesting to see what others think.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30997
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
It’s a lovely sunny day here in Harpenden this morning & it looks as though the weather is set fair down here for the remainder of the week.
I did wonder if we were going to get something a bit different today after the shock of Saturday’s prize puzzle & yesterday’s fairly tricky (for me) offering. I needn’t have worried because we’ve the usual expert Plumbing & a very tidy job it is too. I found it pretty straightforward & thoroughly enjoyable from a fast start to a brisk finish. Chalicea has also given us a very approachable floughie over in t’other place that is well worth a visit for those who don’t usually venture to those parts.
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30991
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
Overcast here in Harpenden this morning & with rain in the forecast this afternoon once again on a Tuesday no golf.
Today’s Plumb production is perfectly pleasant, neatly clued as ever & about on par with the usual level of difficulty for a Tuesday. I did enjoy it though didn’t think it one of the Prof’s top drawer puzzles & felt it lacked a bit of the pizzazz of yesterday’s back-pager
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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30987
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Overcast here in Harpenden this morning & with rain in the forecast this afternoon so no golf.
Shabbo is off to Suffolk hence our swap which takes me out of my Anthony Plumb comfort zone. I was expecting a Smooth production but pretty certain it’s not one of his & wouldn’t like to hazard a guess at who the setter is. I found it pretty straightforward other than some doubt as to what to underline in a couple of the clues. There’s rather a lot of GK which I guess is fine if you’re familiar with it so I’ll be interested to see what others think.
Great to see some new commenters on yesterday’s blog. I do hope that having de-lurked they comment again.
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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