Sunday Toughie No 222
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
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…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 222 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 221
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
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…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 221 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 220
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
proXimal is here again with all his Sunday Toughie trademarks. I found this much easier than his last offering, but mainly because the Spoonerism leapt out of my mind within seconds of seeing the crossword at 23:32 last night.
We have 14a and 14d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to get across the line. I will try and give a bonus nudge or two if you ask, but I don’t think this was as difficult as some from proXimal.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 220 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 219
by Silvanus
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
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…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 219 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 218
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
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…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 218 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 217
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
We haven’t had Zandio here since #207, and judging by some of his recent backpagers, I expected a tougher time. This went smoothly with only a few 2d’s or quid pro quo’s for parsing.
16a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. In order to sprinkle them evenly around the grid I have left a few of the trickier clues unhinted. I will try and give a nudge or two if you ask.
Here We Go…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 217 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 216
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
It is Light’s turn to have two Prize Puzzles this weekend. If yesterday was his 100th puzzle for The Telegraph is this his 101st? I don’t know for sure, as they may count the anonymous back pagers differently from Toughies. This is definitely his 14th Sunday Toughie as Light and with 8 so far in the other toughie, that leaves at least 79 anonymous backpage puzzles that have entertained us since he graduated from these shores. An impressive output in such a short time.
Anagrams and double definitions have hit the cutting room floor today, and don’t forget the maxim: When in doubt…
14a and 14d clues today and I have hinted at half. I will try and provide a nudge or two if you ask, but as it is Mother’s Day, my normal Coffee and Cake outing with Mama Bee will probably be Betty’s rather than the local Caffè Nero, I may take a little longer to reply
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 216 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 215
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
Beam has provided a very pleasant and not too tough Toughie today. I was pleased to have something a little easier than last week’s, as no matter what tricks I used, I couldn’t get the puzzle until 00:10
Beam has brought us a generous and symmetric 16a and 16d clues today. When selecting the clues to hint, I found that the across selection was equally symmetric, so I let that guide an equally symmetric selection of downs. That may have left a few of the trickier clues unhinted, so I will endeavour to help with a bonus hint or two if you ask.
All the Beam™ trademarks are there, sweetheart, the Queen, single word answers and no anagrams. I spotted quite a few definitions by example? hence the question marks. I expect you will find the checkers to finish, as this was much more straightforward than last week.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 215 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 214
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
proXimal is here again with all his Sunday Toughie trademarks. Tougher than usual I think, but not helped by my failure to find 27a in any dictionary! There appears to be a surplus I and the only source I can find suggests it is a common misspelling. Tomdisappointingsturges 65 will be very disappointed indeed if we allow misspellings to become commonplace.
We have 14a and 16d clues today and I have hinted half. I hope you find the checkers to get across the line.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 214 (Hints)”
Sunday Toughie No 213
by Dada
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
A day out at the Rhubarb Festival yesterday was very good (and tasty too), but quite tiring. Last time Dada was here (Sunday Toughie 204) I was a bit grumpy and wanted to express disapproval (7a) at getting a Dada to solve last night, but this was quite pleasant. I will obviously have to get used to seeing Dada twice on a Sunday quite often.
28 clues today split 13a/15d and I have hinted half. I hope you find the checkers to finish but I will try and give a nudge or too if time permits, around preparing the surplus of Rhubarb I bought yesterday.
Here We Go…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 213 (Hints)”