Toughie No 3675 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
I thought this was pleasingly gentle for a Thursday, especially from Dharma. As ever, it’s all about wavelength, of course, so mileage may differ. But I’ve always found him immensely doable and fun. Still, I have begrudgingly tacked on an extra half just to acknowledge some of the arguably trickier wordplay. An absolute belter either way. Over to you. Continue reading “Toughie 3675”
Toughie No 3659 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
I was, as ever, at a loss how to rate this for difficulty. I pretty much skipped through it, thanks largely to Dharma’s typically fair definitions – hence the 2 not 2.5. But full parsing took slightly longer because of some original wordplay. I did, however, initially draw a blank up top, having to dot round the grid to find a way in. Once I did, though, it all slotted into place fairly quickly. And the north-west is not, in fact, nearly as impenetrable as it at first (to me) appeared. Dharma effectively gives us 1a on a plate as you have only to delete two letters and add one, so it really should have flown in immediately. Smart stuff – I’m still chuckling about 15d’s “flimsy house”. Outrageous! All yours.
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Toughie No 3635 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Typically sharp but fair definitions from Dharma with some knotty wordplay. For some reason, I found this slightly harder to break into than usual but once the top fell, it was a brisk-ish solve. All yours.
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Toughie No 3595 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
I didn’t really need the byline – this was very, very Dharma. As ever, the definitions leapt out and the surfaces told stories, but some parsing needed (a little) teasing. There’s a pleasingly sporty flavour – football, rugby, racing, athletics, golf and tennis all get a look-in. But (I don’t think 3d really counts) no cricket? For shame! Cracking entertainment. All yours. Continue reading “Toughie 3595”
Toughie No 3575 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **+ – Enjoyment ****
Dharma’s back to tickle and tease, with engineered surfaces and fair definitions, as always. Some real graft here. All yours.
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Toughie No 3555 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
Perhaps slightly trickier than usual from Dharma today, with some imaginative synonyms (10a’s “spot”, 11a’s “accept” and 25a’s “band”, etc) and a couple of extended definitions (11a’s “not much to write home about” and 8d’s “yet to be developed”). All typically smart, of course. Over to you. Continue reading “Toughie 3555”
Toughie No 3538 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **
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Toughie No 3522 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment **
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Toughie No 3510 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment **
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Toughie No 3494 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
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