Sunday Toughie No 111 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 10th of March 2024
Category: Robyn (Sunday)
Sunday Toughie 111 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 111
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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I write this preamble before seeing the crossword and although Robyn has a bit of history with themes, most recently with hidden games in all the across clues in Sunday Toughie 109. I hope that crickety clues don’t feature too heavily as I would be obliged to hop on one leg until we get to 112 as the umpire David Shepherd used to do whenever the score got to 111 or one of its multiples
Apart from an appeal for a catch (25a) and one run scored (14d) I didn’t notice anything else crickety, but quite a lot of Latin and Kings and Queens appear today as well as a fair bit of facial hair in 8d and elsewhere
I am taking Mama Bee out for a Mothering Sunday afternoon tea (The Talbot Hotel in Malton rather than Betty’s) so any pleas for extra help will be answered on our return
It was nice to see that of the four long ones only one was a partial anagram I have hinted half of 14a and 14d clues and hope that the mental image in 27a fades before long
Here we go…
Sunday Toughie 109 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 109 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 25th of February 2024
Sunday Toughie 109 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 109
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Robyn has brought us one of his thematic puzzles today and I was amazed that he managed to get them into all the across clues without the down gridfill being full of exceedingly obscure words or even impossible. Only one of the elements was a pastime I have never encountered before (12a) but it rang a bell.
Shakespeare crops up in quite a few places and South American capitals but after the delightful theme 12a and 24d pleased me the most today which did you like?
We have 14a and 14d clues today and I cannot hint at all the thematic elements so
Here we go…
Sunday Toughie 107 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 107 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 11th of February 2024
Sunday Toughie 107 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 107
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Robyn starts with a Spoonerism today, but once over that hurdle, the rest went smoothly
The 2 & 16d combo was my favourite by the proverbial mile but plenty of others satisfied 10a 12a and 9d fight it out for my minor places
What was your favourite?
We have 14a and 16d clues today and I have hinted half – if any ones you find tricky haven’t made the cut I have some leeway to offer a nudge or two
Here we go…
Sunday Toughie 104 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 104 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 20th of January 2024
Sunday Toughie 103 (Review)
Sunday Toughie No 103 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 14th of January 2024
Sunday Toughie 104 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 104
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Robyn is back today, it is not the first time one of our triumvirate of Sunday Toughie Setters has had sequential puzzles. Zandio brought us Sunday Toughie 8 and 9 and 28 and 29, and Robyn did it again with 66 and 67. I wonder if he is going to have a multiple-linked clue this week. We’ve had figure-hugging numbers, Guard-dogs and last week’s theme which is still sub judice until the review is out Wednesday
Robyn is in the lead on 37 Sunday Toughies, with proXimal on 35 and Zandio on 32
I wrote that while hacking and coughing before a sleep-deprived night and I can’t detect a theme. I found it quite tricky to do and I kept at it as I was more comfortable while busy. We have a sure-fire candidate for THE LIST™ (Terence) in 20d and some tricky parsing. Yesterday we had a few comments where the very act of typing a plea for help aided the brain cells and as soon as the request was sent the answer came to mind. I had the same thing with 15a whose parsing came in a flash just as I sent a plea for help to the Answerbank. You are all clever enough to get there too but if I have left any gaps on the cutting room floor please ask
Here we go…
Sunday Toughie 103 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 103
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Robyn with an enjoyable Grammar and Geography lesson today. We have that horse garment again! but also a nice theme for which you may need a gazetteer or Google Maps
14a and 14d clues today and I have hinted half
A laptop that is stuck in an update loop and a broken mouse have put me behind today so I am dashing a bit to get this blog out A dab of glue and a slap on the battery and it’s sorted!
Here we go…