Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30853
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
A lovely sunny day here in Harpenden though still on the chilly side so golf can wait until it warms up a wee bit. I’m off to meet Shabbo for a spot of lunch & a pint at The Brocket Arms in Ayot St Lawrence so no doubt will hear all about his adventures in the Cape.
A typically Tuesday puzzle which I found pretty straightforward other than one slightly tricky parse. I assume it’s an Anthony Plumb production as it certainly felt like his style of clueing.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30849
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Shabbo has had the temerity to request a day off as he is off enjoying himself in the Cape so you’re stuck with me. Can’t promise his precise explanations but there are some good tunes to listen to.
No prizes for guessing the identity of today’s setter. With no more than six words in any clue & a crafty appearance for one of his trademarks (albeit in the form of an anagram) it’s Ray T, the first half of Jane’s Thursday dream team with Silvanus on Toughie duty. I’ll be interested to see how many, if any, hands go up for one consonant shy of a correct grid. A thoroughly enjoyable solve from start to finish.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3425 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
I’d have known this was Dharma even without his Toughie byline: garlicky wordplay, clever definitions and sneaky misdirects.… Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30847
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment **/***
A fairly typical Tuesday puzzle with nothing to frighten the horses. Nicely clued throughout & with a couple of neat surfaces. For me a bitof a return to form after the last two weeks though reckon still a wee bit short of his best. Back on Thursday as I’m subbing for our man in the Cape.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3421 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **/***
Chalicea’s back with her magic (South African, Scandi and Scots today) dictionary, a couple of semicolons and even a bonus Quickie clue (19d).… Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30841
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment **/***
A perfectly pleasant & pretty 26a puzzle today although not perhaps one that will live long in the memory. It’ll be interesting to see if others have a different view but for me both this week & last have lacked a bit of the usual sparkle.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3417 by Dada
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
A tad quirky, I thought, but crammed with Dada’s usual trademarks – a bombardment of double definitions and anagrams, plus a wee smidgeon of cheek and GK, hence the extra half-star.… Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30835
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment **/***
Maybe it’s a case of the miserable weather putting me in a contrary humour but for me today’s puzzle felt if anything a tad pedestrian. It was of course well clued but I felt it lacked the usual dose of AP humour – or maybe I’ve just missed it. Either way pretty straightforward & I doubt that many will need the hints. Worth reading for the generous prize on offer for the first person to spot one of my parsing mistakes – I’m on a hat-trick….
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3413 by Musaeus
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Not too taxing today despite the double unches (Musaeus seems to like ‘em) some quirky definitions and a handful of peculiar surfaces – 14a, etc.… Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30829
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Another one in a consistent line of very enjoyable & pretty straightforward Tuesday puzzles from the Prof. I don’t expect it will present too many difficulties for most & I’d reckon it about on a par with yesterday’s production in terms of difficulty.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
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