Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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My most recent experience of cranberry was in an M&S Christmas Sando (very nice), but now we have a puzzle by a setter of that name.
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on Friday morning, we had blizzard conditions with winds of 56 km/hr gusting to 90 km/hr, that’s 35 mph to 55 mph, plus or minus, in old money, but most of the snow being blown around was already on the ground and not in the process of falling.… Continue reading
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Sunday Toughie No 155
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proXimal returns with a Spoonerism to start and some compound anagrams. The Spoonerism wasn’t a problem as it was just a transposition of initial letters rather than sounds, but I spent rather a long time mulling over what and where to extract the compound anagrams. I was in a Nabakovian rabbit hole over a simple girls name before sense prevailed.
We have 14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. If a few tricky ones have hit the cutting room floor I may be able to give a nudge if asked.
Here we go, Folks…
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In the olden days (15 years ago!) I was a blogger (on a couple of the other sites) but blog quality and sophistication has improved considerably since. Me not so much.
My qualification then was that I self-described as a beginner and Peter Biddlecombe (Hi Peter!) wanted to demonstrate that mere mortals such as myself were cryptically capable.
Incidentally, my solving partner (to be introduced) pointed out it’s ironic for us to be writing this blog since this is where we come ourselves for help (thanks Phibs!).
Enough about us…
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where more fluffy white stuff has been falling from the sky – it must have warmed up somewhat.
For me, and I stress for me, quite a challenge from Dada this week. … Continue reading
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Sunday Toughie No 154
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Another Newbie to the Sunday Toughie, I was quite surprised to find Dada as the compiler today. Once I got over the surprise I found this a floughie toughie and I don’t think horses have any concerns either here or in the backpager. I haven’t had time to tackle Senf’s Dada yet but I have spotted some similarities.
Dada has brought a slightly “25a ungenerous” 14across and 13down clues today on what I call the H4 grid (from the dark blocks along the sides of the grid). I will plump for the crafty 9d today but the precarious 16a ran it close before falling at the last.
I counsel you “15d” to be aware that the red pencil has been active this weekend with just a few 1a remaining of Christmas Comestibles
Here we go, Folks…
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A very happy New Year to all EV solvers. As of next Sunday, a new EV blogger will make their début, sharing duties with me on an alternating basis. I will let them introduce themselves when the time comes, but this is the moment to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the Numpties, who got these hints off the ground back in September 2020 with Chalicea’s The Beagle Has Landed (EV 1451), wrote all the blogs until June 2022, and then took turns with me until the end of last year – in the process covering something like 150 puzzles. Suffice to say that the existence of these hints is a direct result of their enthusiasm and effort.
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where after warmer temperatures (relatively speaking and by Winnipeg standards) over Christmas and New Year it has gone back to being taters with minus 20s until Thursday at least.… Continue reading