Enigmatic Variations 1683 (Hints)
Parking Offence by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Gabriel
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Chalicea is another prolific setter encountered in all the usual places. For instance, in the Magpie series where she invariably sets at the A-grade level. This typically indicates fewer degrees of freedom and an accessible endgame that doesn’t suffer from GWIT (“guess what I’m thinking”). This puzzle is no exception.
In true Phibs style, I told Gemini: “in a thematic crossword puzzle, we are asked to identify a parking offence and the person performing it” to which they responded laconically with:
“Offence: OVERTIME
Person: METERFEEDER (someone adding money to extend time)”.
Was that helpful? You decide.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3305 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the meteorologists (didn’t I comment on them recently?) are clinging to their forecast on the end of the Arctic freeze and by today we might be 35 degrees Celsius warmer than we were on Wednesday – minus 31 to plus 4! … Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30857 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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Sunday Toughie No 160
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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I wouldn’t recommend trying to set up a new Windows 11 laptop at the same time as a new phone, but technical issues apart this was a fun Sunday Toughie that troubled me less than the aforementioned tech issues.
14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half
I have some doubts about 4d but I am sure someone will throw some light on stocks. Looking at the grid and the clues I have hinted there are a lot of gaps in the East but when in doubt look for anagrams and lurkers and you should get enough checkers to find the rest. I will try and help with a bonus nudge if required.
A good friend pointed out the dangers in 25a, whatever you do make sure you abandon the odd letters. If you don’t you will have the start of a very unsuitable word for the crossword. I assume neither Zandio or CL spotted this 😭, but MP did😁
Here we go…
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Enigmatic Variations 1682 (Hints)
Triple Change by Kruger
Hints and tips by Phibs
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I have a suspicion that the phrase which constitutes the title has something to do with bellringing.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3304 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we remain in the deep freeze and the old adages that some believe that February is the coldest month of the year and that it can get too cold for it to snow appear to be true. … Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30851 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by Gazza)
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Crypticsue is on holiday so it’s down to me to provide a few hints for the Saturday Prize Puzzle.
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Sunday Toughie No 159
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Beam has brought us his third Sunday Toughie. I found a couple of “traps” for the unwary and some tricky parsings here, but I think I have them all right now. Trademarks abound (less than 5.35 words per clue, single-word answers, the Queen and sweetheart, lurkers and initial letters too.)
I hope one of my usual commenters spots the name check in 16d and Senf gets a first name check too 10a!
A generous 16a and 16d clues today and I have hinted 7 of each – leaving me the scope for a bonus nudge or two if you ask
Here we go, Folks…
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Enigmatic Variations 1681 (Hints)
Not Mentioned by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gabriel
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Kcit is also Phi and is based in NZ – thus the pseudonymic inversion I assume – and a prolific setter (e.g. Listener, Inquisitor and the dailies). He tends to be very fair, rigorous and on the harder end of the spectrum. The title is tantalizing and it only made sense once I had made some sense of the theme. Actually that’s pretty typical for me. Some people though seem to be able to telepathically infer the theme from the title alone which of course accelerates the solving process. I invariably find that it’s the last piece of the jigsaw that clicks into place. In this case, I speculated that it had something to do with “unmentionables”.
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3303 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg, where I am still reflecting on the significant moments of my visit to the old country – arrival at the gate at Terminal 4 to driving away from Heathrow in my Avis rental car in record time with minimal time in passport control and the baggage hall; seeing my Big Sister at home looking much better than she did last October in St George’s Hospital, Tooting; a sideswipe from Storm Eowwyn and a full on hit from Storm Herminia while in Somerset; a very enjoyable Birthday Bash, meeting and re-meeting a wide cross section of our community; and last but by no means least the rendezvous with ‘The Pink Lady’ at Liverpool Street Station – thankfully there was only one ‘Pink Lady’; I was concerned that if there were two or more I might pick the wrong one and get whacked around the head with a weighty handbag for my troubles.… Continue reading