Sloop John Bee – Page 3 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Sunday Toughie 214 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 214

by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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proXimal is here again with all his Sunday Toughie trademarks. Tougher than usual I think, but not helped by my failure to find 27a in any dictionary! There appears to be a surplus I and the only source I can find suggests it is a common misspelling. Tomdisappointingsturges 65 will be very disappointed indeed if we allow misspellings to become commonplace.

We have 14a and 16d clues today and I have hinted half. I hope you find the checkers to get across the line.

 

Here we go, Folks…

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Sunday Toughie 213 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 213


by Dada

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

 

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A day out at the Rhubarb Festival yesterday was very good (and tasty too), but quite tiring. Last time Dada was here (Sunday Toughie 204) I was a bit grumpy and wanted to express disapproval (7a) at getting a Dada to solve last night, but this was quite pleasant. I will obviously have to get used to seeing Dada twice on a Sunday quite often.

28 clues today split 13a/15d and I have hinted half. I hope you find the checkers to finish but I will try and give a nudge or too if time permits, around preparing the surplus of Rhubarb I bought yesterday.

Here We Go…

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Sunday Toughie 212 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 212

by Beam

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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A generous 16a and 16d clues today, and I have hinted half, I hope you find the checkers to finish. I will try to give an extra nudge if you ask.

Mama Bee needs shopping, so I may be replying from the aisles. I will get back as soon as I am able.

Here we go, Folks…

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Sunday Toughie 210 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 210 by proXimal

Review by

Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 1st February 2026

Sorry it’s a bit late, I thought I scheduled this with the other BB puzzles

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Sunday Toughie 211 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 211

by Light

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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Light’s thirteenth appearance in the Sunday Toughie slot but not unlucky for me. 5d took the most time to parse, but I think I have it now. It seemed like there were rather a lot of first, last, and alternate letter uses today. I did particularly enjoy the bilberry eating bird and the Hurricane, but those were just two of a long list of candidates.

I have tried to be a bit oblique with pics and vids, so I hope I haven’t given too much away. I will try and give a nudge or two if you ask.

14a and 14d clues today I hope you have as much fun as I did.

 

Here we go, Folks…

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Bridge House 2 by Prolixic

Bridge House 2

by Prolixic

Reviewed by Snowman

A pdf of the puzzle is available here  Bridge House 2

Thanks to Prolixic for this, the second of two puzzles he created for this year’s Birthday Bash, along with appreciation for the time he devotes to the crossword community generally such as creating an excellent guide to the construction of cryptic crossword clues (which is available to download from CrypticCrosswords.net) and reviewing Rookie Corner every week. Thanks also to SJB for organising the bash and blogging the prize Toughie every Sunday.

I thought this was tricky, perhaps in the Toughie class, but there are plenty of back pager level clues to get you going. Well worth a go.

I have provided hints below. There are a couple of references to Wiktionary, which should be treated with suitable caution.

SJB’s Notes. Thanks for the thanks and for doing the blog for this Snowman. I was getting worried about my “job” as Sunday Toughie blogger, as you not only spotted the fourth definition in 10a, you also parsed 25a better than my early efforts.  I am not sure if you could call it a Nina, but there are several references to the blog (6a), the nature of the celebration (20d) and a couple that reference the age of Big Dave’s Blog (11a,15a and maybe 26d). If there are more than those, I hope Prolixic can explain.
Italics, pics and vids are mine!

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