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 **
Continue reading “Toughie 3538”
Toughie No 3522 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment **
Continue reading “Toughie 3522”
Toughie No 3510 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment **
Continue reading “Toughie 3510”
Toughie No 3494 by Dharma
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Continue reading “Toughie 3494”
Toughie No 3473 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Typically clever stuff from Dharma. He’s shown us a lot of love here to put a real shift in: honed surfaces, imaginative wordplay and fun pay-offs.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3453 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Very Dharma today: generous definitions spiced with fizzy wordplay and some big swings.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3425 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
I’d have known this was Dharma even without his Toughie byline: garlicky wordplay, clever definitions and sneaky misdirects.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3401 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****/*****
An utterly charming puzzle from Dharma to see out the year in style: cunning misdirection, masked definitions and typically smart surfaces. Nowt outlandish here. My difficulty rating will, I’m sure, meet with snorts of derision as per usual, but Dharma’s style has always suited me down to the ground. Hopefully, I won’t be entirely alone! All yours.
Continue reading “Toughie 3401”
Toughie No 3377 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****/*****
As usual with Dharma, some very fair definitions coupled with some pretty garlicky wordplay.… Continue reading