Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3348 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
OK, let me try this again! A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this blog is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
On Thursday, we experienced blizzard conditions, with winds gusting to over 55mph and temperatures in the minus 20s before the mythical ‘feels like’ was taken into consideration, resulting from an Atmospheric River that originated somewhere over the Pacific Ocean reinforced by an Alberta Clipper once it had crossed the Rockies and ‘running into’ a Polar Vortex over Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with four long ‘uns, six anagrams (one partial), 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!
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 3348 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3347 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this puzzle is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
After a couple of evenings gallivanting around the Province it was very pleasant to spend a ‘quiet evening in’ undertaking my favourite pastime of imbibing a not see wee dram of The Balvenie.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada still somewhat quirky, especially when it came to anagram indicators, with seven anagrams (three partials), two lurkers (one reversed), and one homophone in a symmetric, for a change, 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!
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 3347 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 202
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
A floughie(ish) Toughie from Beam today, all the Beam trademarks are there Queens sweethearts and initial letters clue and a smattering of underwear.
We have 14a and 16d clues and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to finish, but some tricky clues have had to remain unhinted, so I will try and provide a nudge if you ask (and I am not out shopping)
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 202 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3346 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where it has become decidedly cooler with ‘high’ temperatures in the minus mid-teens before the mythical ‘feels like’ is calculated and we now have some of that fluffy white precipitation!
This weekend’s reading, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library – the thirteenth book by Ioana Whishaw, a prequel telling how Lane Winslow got ‘out of the office’ and into ‘field work.’ Only 179 pages so more of a novella than a novel but proving to be as enjoyable as ever.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada somewhere between quirky and off the wall, especially when it came to anagram indicators, with eight anagrams (two partial), one lurker (reversed), and two homophones in a very asymmetric 31 clues – he does like his asymmetry; 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.
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 3346 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 201
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
A Light(ish) Toughie from Light, that took longer to blog than solve. A slightly uneven 14a and 16d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to solve this fine puzzle. I will try and give a nudge or two if I can, but I am off to see Mumford & Sons tonight, so responses may be a bit late.
The featured image of the Matt Cartoon wouldn’t post where it belonged (as a hint to 1a) so I have left it there.
Mama Bee is nagging to go out for coffee so I will schedule this and talk to you later…
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 201 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3345 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Wincanton in Somerset. I am here for the wedding of one of my four nieces, the last of the four to ‘tie the knot.’ Wincanton used to be an important stop on the coaching route from London to Plymouth and there were a number of Coaching Inns in the town, some of which are still in existence as pubs and hotels. One of them, now an art gallery, has an ‘unofficial’ blue plaque on the exterior wall stating that Queen Victoria stayed there, in 1825, as a six year old Princess.
My ‘in flight’ reading for my Eastbound flights, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library – the fourth novel in the Marlow Murder Club series.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with three long ‘uns, five anagrams (two partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 29 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.
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 3345 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3344 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg from where I am happy to report that I have booked my flights for attendance at BB17, a.k.a. my semisesquicentennial plus one year and six days, and some family visiting – I am not sure which is more important – but no more date changes SJB.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly, with his own thesaurus in evidence, with six anagrams (four partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, which I am reasonably certain are below, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.
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 3344 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3343 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg. Even living in Canada, I used to be comfortable with the idea that the Christmas season ‘started’ the day after the US Thanksgiving Holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, which is usually ‘close’ to the start of Advent, but the curmudgeon in me considers the fact that the season now starts within a few days of, or the day after, Halloween is just plain nuts.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada friendly with two long ‘un, six anagrams (one partial), one lurker, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 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.
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 3343 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 198
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
A generous (32 clues today) and not too tough for a Toughie, from Beam today. No multiple-word clues and no more than six words per clue, plenty of Beam trademarks, even though he has played a bit fast and loose with his sweetheart today.
I have hinted at half of an evenly balanced 16a and 16d clues today. I hope you find enough checkers to finish today, but I will possibly provide a nudge or two if asked.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 198 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3342 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg on this Remembrance Sunday where, courtesy of two Alberta Clippers in quick succession, we have had a couple of ‘dustings’ of fluffy white precipitation. And, oh dear, Santa is already building his grotto in at least one of the shopping malls in the city!
Thankfully, whatever it was that caused the delay in publishing yesterday’s puzzles did not reoccur. In fact, as often happens, today’s puzzles were available shortly after 11:30pm UK time (6:30pm in Winnipeg).
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada reasonably friendly with two long ‘un, seven anagrams (two partial), two lurkers (one reversed), and no homophones in a symmetric 28 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.
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 3342 (Hints)”
