Toughie Crosswords – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3140

Toughie No 3140 by Sparks

Hints and tips by Dutch

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment *****

The clever device using 5 symmetric pairs (see 21a) helps the solve a lot, if you spot it early

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Toughie 3139

Toughie No 3139 by Django
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ****

Django has given us a generous 32 clues in this enjoyable Toughie. Thanks to him.

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Toughie 3136

Toughie No 3136 by Elgar

Hints and tips by Dutch

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BD Rating – Difficulty *****Enjoyment *****

Tricky! A satisfying solve. Seeing the pangram earlier might have helped me decide the correct alternative spelling for the last clue. Continue reading “Toughie 3136”

Toughie 3135

Toughie No 3135 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***


This is a fairly typical Beam Toughie, though there are no ‘first letters’ clues and the Queen is having day off. Thanks to Beam for the enjoyment – I wonder if he was one of the prominent figures from Britain and France invited to last night’s banquet at Versailles?
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EV 1608 (Hints)

Enigmatic Variations 1608 (Hints)

More than Meets the Eye by Kcit

Hints and tips by The Numpties

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Kcit needs no introduction for EV solvers. Dave Hennings’ crossword database tells us that he has been setting them since 1993. We know he will give us a challenge with demanding clues, often with some musical connection.… Continue reading

Toughie 3132

Toughie No 3132 by proXimal

Hints and tips by Dutch

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BD Rating – Difficulty **/***Enjoyment ****

proXimal provides a welcome respite from the usual tortuous Friday toughie. Once I had a way in, this went fairly smoothly. NW was last. Nice smooth surfaces

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