Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3391 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on some mornings this week, the mercury has started dipping below zero!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada about the friendliest he gets again. Some guessing required and an unindicated German word. Five anagrams (no partials), two lurkers (not hinted, so don’t forget the ‘if all else fails look for . . .’, and one homophone, all in a symmetric not great value for money 26 clues; with 13 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3391 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 246
by Hudson
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A second Sunday Toughie from Hudson, and I found it a tad easier than proXimal last week. The usual delays at Telegraph Towers at the start of the month didn’t happen, and I got off to a flying start at about 23:20.
I had to consult our golf correspondent to check 1a. Thanks, Andy. Some very nice surfaces here, and I don’t think it is too Toughie for a Sunday.
16a and 14d clues, and I have hinted at half. A couple of deeper dives into the BRB thesaurus and dictionary were required (14a 22d), but they were there.
I will try and give a nudge if you get stuck; just ask
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 246 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3390 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the mild Autumn continues but probably not for much longer. However, no negative temperatures in this week’s version of the 14 day forecast.
Two weeks ago, in response to stanXYZ, I stated that I would explain why a reversal can work better than a three letter anagram that probably involves moving only one letter. Some time ago, possibly pre-Covid, there was a two element clue for SANGRIA. The first element was based on a synonym of SANG and the second was indicated as an anagram of AIR which, in my opinion and although it involves moving two letters, would have been better clued as a reversal.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada about the friendliest he gets. Four long ‘uns, six anagrams (four partials), one lurker, and one homophone, all in a symmetric not great value for money 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3390 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3389 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the word FR*ST is beginning to appear in weather forecasts and reports!
For me, and I stress for me,© same as last week, Dada very friendly once I had cracked two or three clues. Four long ‘uns, six anagrams (two partials), one lurker, and two homophones, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3389 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 244
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Light has brought a great Toughie today, with some clever surfaces and a bit of investigoogling to check the 3d novelist and 23a cocktail. I hesitate to call it floughie as I was off base last week and there were a few crumpet scratches to get across the finish line.
I hope you find the checkers to cross the line too, but as usual I will try and give a nudge if asked.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 244 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3388 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where Mother Nature has been giving us some welcome gentle rain.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very friendly once I had cracked two or three clues. Six anagrams (two partials), one lurker (not hinted, you are on your own), and one homophone, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3388 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 243
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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An almost floughie toughie from Beam, with all the trademarks: single-word answers, no anagrams, queens and sweethearts, and an initialism. Because of his no-anagrams rule, we have rather a lot of double and even a quadruple definition. I hope you find the checkers to finish and will try and give a nudge if needed
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 243 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3387 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Manitoba where, like a number of other Provinces, the practice of Springing Forward and Falling Back is coming to an end. We Sprang Forward in March but it was announced on Thursday that we are not Falling Back in November so, until it changes again at some indeterminate time in the future, our time pieces will show Central Daylight Time, which is the same as Eastern Standard Time, year round. I expect that it will get a more appropriate name. I’m getting too old for all this malarkey!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada sort of friendly but some lateral thinking required. Seven anagrams (six partials), two lurkers (neither hinted, you are on your own), and one homophone, all in an asymmetric 29 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3387 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3386 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where today accounts for the third blogging milestone I began talking about at the end of June – this is my 500th Sunday blog, not counting the first Sunday Toughie – 93 puzzles by Virgilius (Brian Greer) and 407 by Dada (John Halpern).
You may not have received a blog notification e-mail this morning; that would be because of an aberration between me and my laptop on Friday evening (UK time). We have spoken to each other and we promise that it will not happen again, at least not until the next time 
For me, and I stress for me,© after a slow start, Dada quite friendly. Five anagrams (three partials), one lurker, and two homophones (in successive clues, neither of them hinted!), all in a symmetric 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3386 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3385 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where Summer is desperately trying to hang on for a while longer although we have had at least one foggy morning typical of late October/early November.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very quirky although I have to admit that my spelling and writing skills left a little to be desired. Seven anagrams (three partials), one lurker, and one homophone, all in a slightly asymmetric 30 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3385 (Hints)”
