Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3367 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, even though we are now in May, Spring continues to be decidedly cool, in temperature terms that is.
Meanwhile, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library, I have become the temporary owner of Iona Whishaw’s A False and Fatal Claim, her thirteenth novel, not counting the novella prequel, describing the ‘escapades’ of her heroine, former SOE operative Lane Winslow, and long-suffering husband, Police Inspector Frederick Darling, in the town of Nelson, and its environs, in the interior of British Columbia in the late 1940s. Highly recommended!

For me, and I stress for me,© Dada back to (very) quirky – seven anagrams (one partial), one lurker (reversed), and one homophone, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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!
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Sunday Toughie No 222
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A cracking puzzle from Light today. I wish I could have hinted more. The brilliant 1d gets the nod from a classy Spoonerism and 17a ran them close.
14a and 14d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to finish, and as long as you remember your H. Rider Haggard novels and what Zanzibarians speak, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. I will try to give a nudge if asked.
Here we go, Folks…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3366 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg; apologies, after a long and busy day yesterday, I was too cream crackered to be able to create an erudite preamble.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada back to quite friendly – six anagrams (two partials), no lurkers, and no homophones, all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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 3366 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 221
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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I found this Toughie from Beam at the easier end of difficulty, but your experience may vary. I got an early start, as this was available at 23:18 last night, and although most of his trademark clues are here, we again have a slightly unusual Queen in 20d.
A generous 32 clues today and I have hinted half. I will try and give an extra nudge or two if required and able to do so.
Here we go, Folks…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3365 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on Friday, fortified coffee was required after going to the supermarket partly because of the weather, rain/freezing rain/ice pellets/snow, over the preceding 12 hours and partly because of the bill!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada more brain mangling than NYDK was yesterday – two long ‘uns, six anagrams (four partials), one lurker, one homophone, some cross-referencing, and one palindrome all in a symmetric 28 clues with some interesting anagram indicators (just for TDS); with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
So Terence, what did go wrong at Stamford Bridge yesterday afternoon?
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 3365 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3364 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where yesterday we enjoyed a double digit (positive) temperature, for the first time since 23rd November of last year, of plus 11 degrees (plenty of double digit (negative) temperatures in the meantime).
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly again – four longish ‘uns (only one an anagram), five anagrams (two partials), two lurkers (one reversed), and no homophones in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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 3364 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 219
by Silvanus
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A Happy Easter to you all, I am celebrating with this;
In this crossword, from my Four C’s (Coffee, Cycling, Crosswords and Cheese) I am only missing the last one. Although I suppose 14a is on the way there.
A bit of a surprise to see Silvanus here, when I opened this last night, but a pleasant one. Despite not fully understanding 3d I really enjoyed it and I hope you do too. 14a and 16d clues, and I have hinted a very subjective half. If you are still struggling, I will try to give an extra nudge or so if asked.
A reminder to let me know if you are interested in the forthcoming Mid-Year Bash All are welcome, and it should be a good time.
Does anyone else remember 23d and Booster? I have been on a nostalgia fest
Here we go, Folks…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3363 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Easter Sunday morning from Winnipeg where I have been pondering on the origins of the Easter Bunny. I sort of assumed that it was a Hallmark Thing conjured up by my Southern neighbours but, apparently, that is not the case. That unimpeachable source Wikipedia suggests that the Easter Bunny is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter originating among German Lutherans as early as the late 16th Century! Decorated Easter Eggs, not made of chocolate, go back even further.
For me, and I stress for me,© I might have been having an off day but somewhat reminiscent of ST 2978 on November 18th, 2018 – four long ‘uns (only one an anagram), five anagrams (one partial), two lurkers (one reversed), and one homophone in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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 3363 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 218
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Only slightly harder than the last from Beam, and that may be just due to losing an hour’s sleep last night. A typical Beam puzzle, well under 6 words per clue, single word answers, a variation on his usual sweetheart and an initial letters to finish.
A reminder to let me know if you are interested in the forthcoming Mid-Year Bash All are welcome, and it should be a good time.
14a and 14d clues today and I have hinted half, I hope you find the checkers to finish, but I will try and give a nudge or two if required/asked.
Here we go, Folks…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3362 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where on Friday morning, I was thinking, a dangerous activity at any time, that a fortified coffee after my weekly expedition to the supermarket might not be required on the day or for a number of months. That was until I found out that it was minus 11 degrees, feels like minus 20! Perhaps the fortified coffee won’t be required this week!
Question of the day for UK residents, were you awake at 1:00am GMT this morning to advance your various timepieces, except for the ‘clever’ ones that are programmed to do it automatically, to 2:00am BST?

For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly – two long ‘uns (one an anagram and one not), nine anagrams (five partials, three of them only three letters!), two lurkers, and no homophones in an almost symmetric 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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 3362 (Hints)”