Toughie No 3664 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Given the battle I had to solve, parse and blog Elgar’s 300th Toughie, I will admit to being more than a little apprehensive when I printed off his 301st, where the last three Down clues had a whole piece of paper to themselves. I was both relieved and delighted to find that he had set us his friendliest crossword for many a long year; I did know the hymn and the unknown catalogue was fairly clued; and the whole was most entertaining, my favourites being the brilliant 26a and 12d
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31199
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 28th March 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A slightly tough Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and subsequently writing a review for your kind perusal and valuable feedback. Continue reading “DT 31199 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3663 by Beam
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
Beam’s back with his usual flurry of synonyms, the Queen, a sweetheart, and – of course – no anagrams. Scant sauce though, so maybe he listened to Jane – of whom I know we are all thinking, especially having seen today’s latest update. Everything crossed.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31203
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Thanks to today’s setter (I’ll leave you to guess his or her identity) for an entertaining puzzle.
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Toughie No 3662 by Kcit
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31202
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. I approached today’s crossword with some trepidation, as the first puzzle that I blogged – Vintage puzzle 20 – was originally published on 1st April 1978, and had a surprise twist that caught me unawares. Thankfully there were no such pitfalls today, and everything was fairly clued throughout. The standout clues for me were 20a, 18a, 28a, 14d, 24d, and my favourite, the painful riding experience in 16a. Many thanks to our setter.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31201
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***/****
Today’s puzzle, which I assume is the usual Anthony Plumb production, took me a bit longer to complete than usual so I’ve given it an extra * for difficulty. I suspect that it was probably just me being foggy brained first thing so it’ll be interesting to see what others make of it. As ever nicely clued & an enjoyable solve.
As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31200
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Ottawa, where the temperature roller coaster is heading upwards. Temperatures that have recently been in the neighbourhood of -10 C are forecast to hit +15 C today.
Today’s puzzle, though, does not depart from the recent trend of gentle introductions to the cruciverbal week.
In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31199 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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