Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ****** – Enjoyment *****
Anyone else solve the first two clues straight away and hope that we might have Elgar wearing his pink fluffy slippers this week? No such luck – this Friday Toughie was as diabolically tough as ever!
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment *****
As ever, it took a moment of flitting about the grid to refind my Dharma legs but, once regained, this fell into place very nicely – started gingerly, finished at pace. Nowt obscure and all very stylish: sharp wit, smart constructions and silky surfaces. Up there with his very best, I’d say. The floor is yours.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
A nice start of the week Toughie from Donnybrook, with a bit of a cozy mystery theme and, probably only if you are me, an earworm too!
Sunday Toughie No 243 by Beam
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 20/09/26
A fairly gentle Toughie from Beam this week.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 243 (full review)”
Toughie No 3765 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from a soggy-morninged Wirral. I found this to be a curious puzzle. Three-quarters (especially the southern section) were very much at the Floughie end of the scale, but the North-west was almost its own separate mini-Toughie, with some relative obscurities and a bit more head-scratching required; nothing outrageous, though, and very clearly clued as usual with Chalicea. 1a was my stand-out favourite today, with honourable mentions to 5a, 5d and 20d.
Thank you, Chalicea, for a gentle and pleasant start to the Toughie Week
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
Work are sending me off to California at the weekend (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it…) so next week you will have Gazza to explain and entertain. Thanks in advance to him for filling in and letting me off the leash!
Sunday Toughie No 244
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Light has brought a great Toughie today, with some clever surfaces and a bit of investigoogling to check the 3d novelist and 23a cocktail. I hesitate to call it floughie as I was off base last week and there were a few crumpet scratches to get across the finish line.
I hope you find the checkers to cross the line too, but as usual I will try and give a nudge if asked.
Here we go, Folks…
Toughie No 3764 by Luxor
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
This came as a blessed relief after yesterday’s Toughie – no obscurities (well, Planet Normal was new to me but I didn’t need to know it to solve the clue). This is fairly gentle for a Friday Toughie – thanks to Luxor.
Continue reading “Toughie 3764”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A most welcome return by Potoroo – cunning misdirection, sophisticated wordplay and some smart surfaces. Oh, and a pangram to boot. All yours.
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
The SE corner of this Dada crossword turned it from being one of his Sunday puzzles to a 1* Toughie
Sunday Toughie No 242 by Silvanus
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 13/09/26
A very enjoyable puzzle from Silvanus this week.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 242 (full review)”