Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Currently Thursday does not appear to have a regular setter, although since Autumn 2010 Ray T features frequently. During 2009 almost all of the Thursday puzzles were set by Jay.
Toughie No 3395 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment **/***
I’m thankful that I’ve got a shortcut in Word for the word ‘abbreviation’ because there are an awful lot of them here. The puzzle didn’t pose any great problems and really belongs at the start of the week rather than on a Thursday. Thanks to Kcit.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30801
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Either I was on the setter’s wavelength from the start, or this was one of the gentlest Thursday crosswords that I have blogged. I shall let you be the judge of that. I spent most of the puzzle convincing myself that this was not the work of RayT, but then I came across the sweetheart in 25a and the Queen (albeit in a different guise) in 20d and all was well with the world. RayT it is. If we needed any more persuading, the average word count at 5.3 words/clue gives the game away. Interestingly (or not, you can decide!) all are single word solutions, but this is probably more a reflection on the grid rather than any intent of the part of our learned setter.
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. Another lovely puzzle.
Toughie No 3391 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Thanks to Beam for a fairly straightforward and enjoyable puzzle with little to frighten the gee-gees. I only required BRB assistance to verify the second bit of 17d. I originally thought that there was an error in 13a but now I’m not so sure.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30795
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Despite some very brief clues, I am convinced that this is not the work of RayT, so I will leave you, dear reader, to play Guess the Setter.
I had to be very careful with the spelling of 1a, but happily some checking letters came to my rescue. 13d is such a lovely and underused word, but my CoD goes to the very clever 16a.
I am no aficionado of popular music, but even I had heard of the Quickie Pun!
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.
Toughie No 3387 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Silvanus is as smooth and enjoyable as ever – many thanks to him.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30789
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from a very dreich Welwyn Garden City. A good day for doing crossword puzzles.
Once again, no prizes for guessing the identity of our setter today. It’s Thursday, the “words per clue ratio” is a fraction over five and the calling cards at 23a and 25a all tell us that this is the work of RayT.
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.
Toughie No 3383 by Django
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Django is as entertaining and quirky as ever with quite a few gimmes thrown in to help us. Many thanks to him.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30783
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning. Back to my usual Thursday slot and a nicely challenging puzzle to keep us all on our toes.
Quite a few clues involve adding, removing or swapping letters, so it pays to follow the wordplay carefully. A bit of GK is required at 13a, 8d, 12d & 20d, but nothing too tricky. I think 14a is a lovely anagram and we are treated to smooth surface reads virtually throughout.
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 3379 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Karla’s name will be known to aficionados of Enigmatic Variations but this is his maiden voyage as a Toughie setter. He’s given us a puzzle with a minimum of GK but lots of intricate and clever wordplay – that’s just what I like in a Toughie and I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks to him and here’s to many more Toughies from him.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30777
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning and welcome to 21st November. On this day in history, French philosopher Voltaire was born in 1694 and Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte was born in 1898.
I thought this enjoyable RayT offering was reasonably gentle for a Thursday. No prizes for “Guess the Setter” today as he has included all of his usual trademarks of sweetheart, the queen and brevity of clueing, clocking in at a miserly 5.2 words/clue with no double definitions. The short but perfectly formed 15a gets my prize for CoD. It took me ages to see the Quickie Pun, which is not terrible at all!
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 30777”