Donnybrook – Page 8 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 2378

Toughie No 2378 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty *Enjoyment ***

Donnybrook makes it simple today with a mix of easy clues with even easier ones, with 10a being the only clue that would have been out-of-place in a backpage puzzle.

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Toughie 2366

Toughie No 2366 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Measured as a Toughie, I found this to be fairly easy. Less experienced solvers may think differently if they haven’t previously seen constructs like shopper = one who shops or betrays (13a), near meaning tight or miserly (1d), and splitting the answer to 9d as (3-11). Continue reading “Toughie 2366”

Toughie 2299

Toughie No 2299 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Another great puzzle from Donnybrook. The answer to 11a reminded me of an anecdote, recounted below, from a job in Glasgow some 25 years ago – we stayed in a hotel in East Kilbride (Glasgow’s equivalent of Milton Keynes) as our usual hotel (The Pond, now the Leonardo Inn, at Anniesland) was fully booked. Continue reading “Toughie 2299”

Toughie 2283

Toughie No 2283 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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

The handful of lesser-known words were clued in such a way they could be worked out then checked in Chambers. Continue reading “Toughie 2283”

Toughie 2267

Toughie No 2267 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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

I struggled with some of the clues but looking back the only ones that involved something I had never encountered were the Chinese port in 10 Across and the American “spin” in 7 Down. This was certainly not a typical (Fluffy) Tuesday puzzle! Continue reading “Toughie 2267”

Toughie 2251

Toughie No 2251 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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

As usual, Donnybrook teases and tantalises. There’s a lot to enjoy in this puzzle, and the words which were new to me were clued fairly.… Continue reading