Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30897
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from sunny Welwyn Garden City. I hope the weather is being kind to you, wherever you are.
It didn’t take me long to realise that this puzzle is the handiwork of RayT, albeit in fairly benign mood. Please let us know how you got on. I am still struggling with the Quickie Pun. Any help gratefully received. The current Mrs Shabbo has come to the rescue!
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, Ray.
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Toughie No 3455 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Beam comes round regularly every fourth Thursday and this is a typical example of his setting art though fairly gentle if you’re aware of his little tricks. Thanks to him for the enjoyment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30891
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A most enjoyable puzzle and it’s definitely not one of RayT’s, so that leaves…
Ticks from me are awarded to 13a, 15a, 20a, 1d, 7d and 17d, with a double tick to 27a.
Great stuff!
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, setter.
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Toughie No 3451 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
I thought that Silvanus had upped his difficulty level a bit today whilst maintaining the very high enjoyment factor which is his trademark. I added half a point to my difficulty rating due to the time it took me to twig how 1d worked. Thanks to Silvanus.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30885
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from sunny Wells-next-the-Sea. We are getting our biannual Norfolk birding fix this week and the weather has been glorious, as Manders will confirm. For the birders amongst you, the star species to date have been pallid harrier, shore lark and black redstart, but birding is really just an excuse to walk in beautiful places and we have done plenty of that. This is the view from our lovely first floor apartment:
As for the puzzle, I found it very straightforward. Maybe it is just that the Norfolk air has cleared my cluttered mind, so please forgive me if you found it challenging. The brevity of clueing (5.1 words/clue), the single word answers and the single word clues in the Quickie suggest that RayT is our setter today, although there is no queen and the sweetheart is there just to tease us. With Silvanus on duty in the Toughie slot, Jane will no doubt be enjoying her cup of tea more than usual this morning. Some knowledge of the human face is required at 24a, 28a, and 24d, so perhaps a mirror might help? I would not suggest that you use it for 8d, though.
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, setter.
Continue reading “DT 30885”
Toughie No 3447 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
My progress through the puzzle was steady rather than speedy and I enjoyed the process. Thanks to Kcit.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30879
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
As last week, this puzzle is definitely not one of the regular Thursday setters, so over to you, dear reader for “Guess the Setter”. I have no idea. Twmbarlwm, perhaps?
18 degrees forecast for us today, so if you need me, I’ll be in the garden.
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, setter.
Continue reading “DT 30879”
Toughie No 3443 by Django
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Great fun from Django in a puzzle that’s not too tricky but with a few clues where the parsing needed a bit of thought – thanks to him.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30873
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning from a cold and grey Welwyn Garden City.
No prizes for Guess the Setter today. Brevity of clueing (average 5.4 words/clue), single word answers, a reference to the queen at 27a (albeit not the usual one) and a sweetheart at 22d, all indicate that this is the work of RayT. Fairly straightforward, but most enjoyable, as ever.
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, Ray.
Continue reading “DT 30873”
Toughie No 3439 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
I thought that this was about as gentle as Toughies get. Agree or disagree? – do let me know.
Thanks to Beam for the challenge.
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