Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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A search on Dave Hennings’ database at xwdb.info reveals that Chalicea has had 161 puzzles published in the Listener/EV/IQ weekly series and the monthly Crossword/Magpie magazines. A further 18 by her alter ego Curmudgeon take the total up to 179, so I make this number 180, an achievement of truly Phil Taylor-esque proportions.
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we had snow on Sunday and Tuesday, then it was (the somewhat mythical) too cold for it to snow for three days, minus 25 degrees and below, now it has ‘warmed up’ and snow is in the forecast for today and tomorrow!… Continue reading
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Sunday Toughie No 150
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Well that was a surprise! Beam has shone over my Saturday night/Sunday morning. Once I got over the surprise it went smoothly. All the usual 20d’s are there (Average 5.3 words per clue, sweetheart and a queen) I am sure there are other Beam trademarks but my experience of Beam is somewhat limited as his toughies usually fall on my busy work days
14a and 16d clues and I have hinted just under half – a bonus nudge may be available if you are still stuck
Here we go, Folks…
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Growing up as an only child, I often had to adapt pastimes to suit my situation, whether that meant throwing balls at the wall of our house so I could catch them when they bounced back, taking myself on at chess, captaining both the England and Rest of the World cricket teams (brilliantly) in a game of Owzthat, or writing pieces of prose containing deliberate errors so that I could correct them in red pen (I probably shouldn’t have admitted that…)
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, yesterday afternoon, we enjoyed a t-shirts and shorts temperature of plus 4 degrees.
For me, and I stress for me, wind the clock back by 314 blogs to November 18, 2018, Dada’s first Sunday, where I wrote ‘I think he has given us something that is closer to one of his Toughies’ and the same applies today – several longish ‘uns, seven anagrams (four partials), one lurker, and no homophones all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14, plus one bonus, hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. … Continue reading
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Sunday Toughie No 149
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It took me a little longer than normal to 7d this last night but I was watching the snooker. The Snooker was a bit of a grind, and the crossword was done before the final frame. I hope **** recovers as he is playing in the final right now (I redacted myself as you may be watching the highlights later)
As usual proXimal starts with an easy (to Sloop John Bee) Spoonerism we have a couple of extraction/compound anagrams and several homophones. Dinner would appear to be 13a served with a Spanish red
I have hinted half of an even 14a and 14d clues and hope you find the checkers to “pot the final black”
Here we go, Folks…
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I asked ChatGPT, “In a themed crossword, what might a thematic word ‘being an example of good health’ be?”
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the mercury is staying below zero and ice is forming on the rivers!
For me, and I stress for me, Dada reasonably friendly, and we must have seen this grid before – four long ‘uns, eight anagrams (three partials), one lurker, and one homophone all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. … Continue reading