Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31197
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where Winter is proving very reluctant to depart and we are getting some more snow although not significant amounts and probably not as bad as the hailstorm that my Big Sister experienced in Egham yesterday.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), once again not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Silvanus was on Toughie duty yesterday, but no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity once again. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart, don’t be confused by the ‘sweetheart’ in 9d (check the hint), appearing in the back pager with an average of 4.94 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3361 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg. So, Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is! Since most of the grass is still covered by snow and ice, and what can be seen is brown, it is difficult to decide whether it has riz or not. But we do have birdies. Many of the small ones such as Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Sparrows are with us all year round regardless of the temperature.
A little late, but in the last couple of weeks snow sculptures have appeared on a pedestrians/cyclists only street in the downtown area – this is one of a turtle that appears to be about to consume a jelly fish – the wonders of nature!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly – seven anagrams (one partial), two lurkers, and no homophones in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3361 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3360 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg with greetings of the day for all Mothers. Borrowing from Old Bill Shakes, ‘Beware the Ides of March’ (Julius Caesar (Act 1, Scene 2)), especially when they fall on a Sunday (today that is) and there is a Dada crossword to be solved!
So, Terence, what did go wrong on the Fulham Road yesterday afternoon/evening?
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada still reasonably friendly with more than a soupçon of quirkiness – nine, unless I lost count, anagrams (four partials), one lurker (reversed), and no homophones in an asymmetric 28 clues; with 15 hints, including a bonus one for illustration purposes, ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3360 (Hints)”
April 29th: Another update from Jane herself a few days ago. There is some progress but it is slow and she hopes that the considerable number of daily tablets are being effective. Mobility has been affected by two and half months in a hospital bed and she will be having physio to address this. She is being looked after by one of her daughters and regular visits from the district nurses.
Continue reading “Jane – New Update April 29th“
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31185
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, yesterday, I had the annual ‘delight’ of bending over and taking it like a man for my urologist. Still it was worth it; ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ for another year!
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Mr Bringloe in the guise of Donnybrook is on Toughie duty, but no doubt that it is the work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.25 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3359 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where at zero dark thirty we undertook the nonsensical annual ritual of ‘springing forward’. British Columbia has the right idea; while it did ‘spring forward’ today it will not be ‘falling back’ in 8 months time. Manitoba has said that it will wait to see what the USA does but will that wait be a year, a century, or a millennium?
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada reasonably friendly with a soupçon of quirkiness – an economical four anagrams (two partials), no lurkers, and one homophone in an asymmetric 29 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3358 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg on this first day of March.
For those who are minded to celebrate today, a Happy St David’s Day. I should like to mark the day with a wee dram of a single malt, which I discovered when I was in Somerset at the end of November last year, from the Aber Falls Distillery in Abergwyngregyn, North Wales, but I have yet to find it over here; however, I am sure that The Balvenie will be an acceptable substitute.
If meteorologists try to persuade you that today is the first day of Spring ignore them, they are delusional. Starting the seasons on the first of a month is a convenience they have invented for themselves and they should probably have their meteorological qualifications revoked. As any sane person knows, Spring begins with the Vernal Equinox which this year occurs at 2:46pm GMT on Friday, March 20th.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada somewhat quirky today but I did not detect any post-modern intellectual, cultural and artistic pseudo-meta-clues (see NYDK’s response to Paul Gowans – Comment 23 – in yesterday’s blog) – eight anagrams (three partials), one lurker, and no homophones in an asymmetric 29 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3358 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31173
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where winter continues in both temperature and precipitation!
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), absolutely no doubt that this is a friendly back page half of a Dream Team Thursday from the Master of Brevity, with Silvanus on Toughie duty. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.38 words per clue and a Hmm for 18d. Also, like Dada, Ray T seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3357 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we had a reminder that Winter is still with us with snow falling from late on Tuesday until mid-Friday morning fortunately nothing like the pre-Christmas blizzard.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada on double duty with the Prize Toughie but I’m not. A little too much 1d chez moi to make a reasonable judgement on the puzzle as it was one of those Saturday evenings where the Puzzle was not immediately available on the web site but it was on my ‘on its last legs’ tablet so that’s where I started the solve, go figure. Anyway, six anagrams (four partials), two lurkers, and no homophones in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3357 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3356 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where it is a holiday weekend and we are in the middle, almost, of our Winter Festival, Le Festival du Voyageur, which began on Friday and lasts until next Sunday. Naturally our two frozen rivers play a prominent role in the proceedings and the festival features outdoor winter activities, snow sculptures, historical characters, and warm tents filled with music, dance, traditional food, contests, and more.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada has given us a very good example of a PP, a good mix of pauses for thought and gimmes, with four long uns, five anagrams (three partials), two lurkers, and two homophones in a symmetric grid of 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3356 (Hints)”
