Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3349 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg for my last Sunday blog of the year.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada not as friendly as he has been recently apparently ignoring the fact that we are in the season of goodwill etc, with, unless I miscounted, six anagrams (two partials), no 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!
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 3349 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3348 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
OK, let me try this again! A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this blog is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
On Thursday, we experienced blizzard conditions, with winds gusting to over 55mph and temperatures in the minus 20s before the mythical ‘feels like’ was taken into consideration, resulting from an Atmospheric River that originated somewhere over the Pacific Ocean reinforced by an Alberta Clipper once it had crossed the Rockies and ‘running into’ a Polar Vortex over Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with four long ‘uns, six anagrams (one partial), two lurkers (one reversed), 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!
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 3348 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31112
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where yesterday was shorts and tee shirts weather with a high temperature of plus 6 degrees, 33 degrees warmer than it was over the weekend!
Mainly for DG, I have read The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley and here is my considered opinion. In her Acknowledgements, the author wrote that it was hard to write because of its complicated structure; for me, the structure also made it hard to read. It was not written in chapters but as progressive ‘intertwined’ narratives from several of the characters. I thought about giving up several times but then I was past the middle of the book; in a way, past the point of no return. Early on, I considered that a Cast of Characters would have been useful but that would have spoilt a significant ‘reveal’ concerning five of them just over halfway through. Not that enjoyable but not the worst either. What was the considered opinion from your book club?
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a quite enjoyable puzzle with solving and blogging assisted by a 15 year old from the highest distillery in Scotland at Dalwhinnie. I have lost track of who set when on a Wednesday but I have an inkling that this might be the work of Twmbarlwm So, two of my Half Crowns are being retrieved from the back of my sock drawer. Thanks to him, or whomsoever if my Half Crowns go down the drain.
Continue reading “DT 31112”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3347 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this puzzle is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
After a couple of evenings gallivanting around the Province it was very pleasant to spend a ‘quiet evening in’ undertaking my favourite pastime of imbibing a not see wee dram of The Balvenie.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada still somewhat quirky, especially when it came to anagram indicators, with seven anagrams (three partials), two lurkers (one reversed), and one homophone in a symmetric, for a change, 30 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!
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 3347 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31106
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg. Are you confused that I am back only a week after my last Wednesday blog, so am I. Not really, it is all in the interests of juggling assignments, Gazza is on Toughie duty, while Crypticsue is still hors de combat and I will be here next Wednesday as well. And, we wish Crypticsue well for her continuing recovery.
On the strength of a comment made by Daisygirl on Sunday, I have requested a copy of The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley from the Winnipeg Library. She, DG that is, didn’t say if she enjoyed it, I will let you know if I did.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a very enjoyable puzzle. If my thoughts last week about alternating between two setters on a Wednesday are correct I would say that this is probably a Hudson production but he is on Toughie duty and he won’t always be doing double duty, will he? So, my Half Crowns, Toonies, and Loonies are staying at the back of my sock drawer. Thank you setter for an enjoyable solve and blog.
Continue reading “DT 31106”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3346 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where it has become decidedly cooler with ‘high’ temperatures in the minus mid-teens before the mythical ‘feels like’ is calculated and we now have some of that fluffy white precipitation!
This weekend’s reading, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library – the thirteenth book by Ioana Whishaw, a prequel telling how Lane Winslow got ‘out of the office’ and into ‘field work.’ Only 179 pages so more of a novella than a novel but proving to be as enjoyable as ever.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada somewhere between quirky and off the wall, especially when it came to anagram indicators, with eight anagrams (two partial), one lurker (reversed), and two homophones in a very asymmetric 31 clues – he does like his asymmetry; 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.
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 3346 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31100
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from wherever I am. Oh, I remember, I am back in Winnipeg after my flying visit to Somerset which went something like this – flight delays; horrendous traffic on the M25 trying to escape from Heathrow at 3:00pm on a Friday afternoon; no access to hotel until quite late because of a Christmas Market; a beautiful wedding; meeting my two year old great-great-niece for the first time; an attempted murder; getting back to Heathrow much easier than getting away from it; more flight delays; arriving home at zero dark thirty yesterday morning.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a very enjoyable puzzle which was just right for me as I might be suffering from jet lag and that will be the reason if you find any errors. We seem to be alternating between two setters on a Wednesday. I have a 28a left over from my visit to Somerset that is telling me that this is a Twmbarlwm production.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3345 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Wincanton in Somerset. I am here for the wedding of one of my four nieces, the last of the four to ‘tie the knot.’ Wincanton used to be an important stop on the coaching route from London to Plymouth and there were a number of Coaching Inns in the town, some of which are still in existence as pubs and hotels. One of them, now an art gallery, has an ‘unofficial’ blue plaque on the exterior wall stating that Queen Victoria stayed there, in 1825, as a six year old Princess.
My ‘in flight’ reading for my Eastbound flights, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library – the fourth novel in the Marlow Murder Club series.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with three long ‘uns, five anagrams (two partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very 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.
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 3345 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3344 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg from where I am happy to report that I have booked my flights for attendance at BB17, a.k.a. my semisesquicentennial plus one year and six days, and some family visiting – I am not sure which is more important – but no more date changes SJB.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly, with his own thesaurus in evidence, with six anagrams (four partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, which I am reasonably certain are below, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.
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 3344 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31088
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where ice is beginning to form on the rivers that run through the city. No c*ck-ups from me, all the hints are there, or the DT, the puzzle ‘appeared’ on time, today.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a very enjoyable puzzle with a number of examples of clever misdirection. With sharing Wednesdays with Gazza I am losing track of the Wednesday setters so I just hope that today’s setter pops in to claim ownership.
Continue reading “DT 31088”
