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Category: Crosswords

Hints and tips for completing Daily Telegraph Cryptic crosswords

Sunday Toughie 223 (Hints)

by Sloop John Bee  

Sunday Toughie No 223


by Zandio

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

 

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Zandio brings us a flough(ier) toughie than some. I rattled this off after an exciting (semi) finale to the Snooker last night. I hope the final today and tomorrow is as good.

21a and 11d stood out for me but I am sure you will like most of these fine clues

14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. I will try and give a nudge or two if you ask.

 

Here We Go…

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ST 3367 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3367 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, even though we are now in May, Spring continues to be decidedly cool, in temperature terms that is.

Meanwhile, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library, I have become the temporary owner of Iona Whishaw’s A False and Fatal Claim, her thirteenth novel, not counting the novella prequel, describing the ‘escapades’ of her heroine, former SOE operative Lane Winslow, and long-suffering husband, Police Inspector Frederick Darling, in the town of Nelson, and its environs, in the interior of British Columbia in the late 1940s. Highly recommended!

For me, and I stress for me,©  Dada back to (very) quirky – seven anagrams (one partial), one lurker (reversed), and one homophone, all 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!

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Toughie 3680

by crypticsue  

Toughie No 3680 by Elgar

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****

Another of Elgar’s extreme Toughies – it took me just over twice as long as I’d hope to spend solving a Friday Toughie.  I did think there might be a theme  but it wasn’t until I solved 4d and investigoogled that I discovered that today (1st May) is a special day in the ongoing celebrations of the Bicentenary of the Modern Railway, and this  crossword, in particular, celebrates the 150th Anniversary in the line found in 24d and part of the top row of the grid

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DT 31228

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31228

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Today’s puzzle is a very enjoyable solve with nothing to obscure or technical involved in the clueing. I hope that our setter drops in later to claim it. Continue reading "DT 31228"

DT 31223 (Full Review)

by Rahmat Ali  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31223

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 25th April 2026

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and brilliant Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31223 (Full Review)”

Toughie 3679

by ALP  

Toughie No 3679 by Karla
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****/*****

Great fun from Karla today. Pretty friendly, I’d say, for a Thursday and no harm in that on a beautifully sunny day. Nowt that’s remotely obscure – the only arguably less-than-everyday 5d is served up on a plate. Smart, gettable wordplay and some well-worked, credible surfaces. Very enjoyable. All yours.
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