Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Toughie No 3572 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
A properly tough Friday-level puzzle with no anagrams which I enjoyed doing battle with. Thanks to Osmosis.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31058
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Not too difficult for a Wednesday but good fun – thanks to our setter.
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Toughie No 3564 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This is not too tricky for a Friday Toughie but enjoyable. There are two answers that I’d not heard of but both were very fairly clued. Many thanks to Sparks.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31046
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
A step up in difficulty from the last two days but very enjoyable – thanks to our setter.
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Toughie No 3556 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
This is pretty gentle for a Friday Toughie but very enjoyable. Many thanks to Karla.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31034
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Fairly gentle and very enjoyable – thanks to our setter.
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Toughie No 3548 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This is a proper 19d from Osmosis with loads of clever wordplay, a lack of anagrams and a minimum of obscurities. I made solid progress through the puzzle until I got held up (largely due to 7d) in the NE corner. Many thanks to our setter for the entertainment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31022
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** Enjoyment ****
Quite tricky for a Wednesday I thought but very enjoyable. Did you spot all the senior officers running around?. Thanks to our setter.
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Toughie No 3540 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***
Thanks to Sparks for an enjoyable puzzle which isn’t too tough (for a Friday). I’ve given it an extra half-star for difficulty because I needed to verify the 1a accidents, the 9a dietary problem and the 5d mythical beast none of which I’d heard of. I can’t find any Nina today – can you?
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Daily Telegraph Vintage No 30
The Vintage Series comes to an end with a fairly recent Tuesday puzzle by Anthony Plumb. Here is Huntsman’s review of it:
<https://bigdave44.com/2023/09/19/dt-20395-2-3/>
The series has been very interesting in showing how cryptic crosswords developed (and got immeasurably better) since the very early days.… Continue reading