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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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30979
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
Mercifully cooler here in Harpenden this morning & the forecast says we may well catch some much needed rain.
Today’s Plumb production was maybe a tad trickier than X-Type’s puzzle yesterday though still straightforward enough. As ever nicely clued throughout & perfectly enjoyable. There did seem to me to be more than the usual number of single letter insertions & deletions, which I don’t suppose I would have necessarily noticed had I not been required to write the hints. I did try to hide some of the music clips under the click here facility following SJB’s guidance but couldn’t get the hang of it so apologies if any spoil it for those requiring the hint.
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 30973
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***/****
It’s a gorgeous sunny day here in Harpenden & not too hot. Unfortunately I’m nursing a sore back so the golf course will have to do without me today. Attending to a multitude of neglected household chores seems like the order of the day though I expect I’ll find ways to put them off.
Today’s Typically Tuesdayish production from the Prof (I assume) is a gentle puzzle that ought to please those who struggled with X-Type’s back-pager yesterday. As ever it very entertaining & full of 26d clueing throughout. As usual there are a selection of tunes for those interested to accompany the hopefully correct hints.
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 30967
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***/****
It looks like another hot one today so I don’t intend to repeat the mistake of yesterday & walk round the golf course in the worst of heat. I had originally arranged to switch shifts with Shabbo having mistakenly thought I was playing in a senior open event at Aspley Guise but fortunately realised yesterday that it’s tomorrow so we’re back in our usual slots.
I thought today’s offering another typically gentle & elegant puzzle off the Plumb production line. I doubt many will require the hopefully correct hints but, along with the usual selection of tunes, they’re provided below.
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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