Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31137
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg. No doubt that the Master of Brevity is today’s setter, but not the first leg of a Dream Team Thursday, Kcit is on Toughie duty, just a sprinkling of the usual indicators between this puzzle and the Quickie are in evidence. I haven’t calculated average words per clue – I am assuming it is 5 ± a decimal point or two.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), an enjoyable puzzle which caused several pauses for thought for solving and parsing. 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 3351 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where however much snow landed on us during the blizzard that we experienced a week before Christmas is being ‘topped up’ on a regular basis.
I hope that all those who ‘experienced’ Storm Goretti survived the ordeal.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very friendly with four long ‘uns, four anagrams (two of the long ‘uns and 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 3351 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3350 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where Boxing Week (when did that become a thing?) sales, some of which started before Christmas, are still in progress!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly again with, unless I miscounted, seven anagrams (three partials), two lurkers, and one homophone in a somewhat 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!
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 3350 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31124
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A very good New Year’s Eve morning from Winnipeg and welcome to the last back pager blog of the year 2025. Will the world be any different in 24 hours time? Heaven only knows.
But, what I do know is that at some time between midnight UK time and midnight Manitoba time this evening I will be raising a glass, not sure yet if it will be 15 year old Dalwhinnie or 12 year old The Balvenie so I will probably have to call on a shiny new King Charles Loonie to decide for me, to everyone involved with the blog in some way or other, including all of the DT Puzzles Team and Setters, and to the memory of our beloved founder and those who are no longer with us.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), an enjoyable puzzle. As I wrote two weeks ago, I have lost track of who set when on a Wednesday and no-one seems to have claimed ownership recently. This could be the work of Hudson or the work of Twmbarlwm or someone else. So, my Half Crowns are staying at the back of my sock drawer and I will just say thanks to whomsoever. As it is still the season of goodwill etc, I have tried to include as many illustrations and musical hints as Smylers and Huntsman – did I succeed?
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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!
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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)”
