Toughie No 3728 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Category: Toughie Crosswords
Toughie 3727
Toughie No 3727 by Kcit
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***/****
Fairly breezy for a Thursday Toughie. 26a was unknown to me but the wordplay’s pretty clear. Having said that, 1a was the last to fall. Not because it’s tricky – it’s not – but because the definition is anathema to me. I have long tried – and failed miserably – to ban them. What on earth is their point? They just get in the bloomin’ way when you’re making the bed! The floor, as ever, is yours.
Toughie 3726
Toughie No 3726 by Potoroo
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
Potoroos second Toughie was definitely a proper Toughie with lots to think about and quite a bit of brow-furrowing parsing to sort out so it was a good job I got up extremely early this morning as I had to solve the crossword, prepare and schedule the blog and feed Tim the Tortoise, before having to dash out for an eye screening appointment.
Toughie 3725
Toughie No 3725 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Welcome to another Toughie Week.
We have another perfectly-pitched Tuesday Toughie from Hudson. Nothing too tricky, but plenty to get the cogs ticking over and a lot of very clever surfaces, some of which assist the solve, and some of which are misdirections. 5d, 8a, 18a, 22d and 26a are all great clues that any other day could have made top spot, but I’m giving my Gold Star to 25a today.
Thank you, Hudson, for a very enjoyable start to the week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
Sunday Toughie 234 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 234
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Lots of films, birds, dogs and a little bit of Welsh – Suo Gân from Light today
I enjoyed this and would have liked to hint more, but as it is a prize puzzle, I have tried to restrain myself.
I hope you find the checkers to finish, but I will try to give a nudge if shopping and coffee permit
Don’t forget you are all invited to the Old Joint Stock next Saturday
Here we go, Folks…
Toughie 3724
Toughie No 3724 by Dharma
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Enjoyable but very gentle for a Friday Toughie – thanks to Dharma. Having a single 3-letter anagram did seem slightly odd and I wondered whether there had been a last-minute change to what had been intended to be an anagram-free puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3724”
Toughie 3723
Toughie No 3723 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Pretty straight(forward). 11a’s dramatist pushed my memory and 16a reminded me that I’ve never known how to spell his name. But both are generously clued and, as such, this was more of a skip than a jump. The floor is yours to tell me I’ve got the ratings absolutely spot-on yet again … or not!
Toughie 3722
Toughie No 3722 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Toughie 3721
Toughie No 3721 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
Welcome to the Toughie Week.
Dada has given us a cracker to get things started: lots of inventive and misleading clues with smooth surfaces. Perfect for a Tuesday I think – plenty that needs the old cogs to be given a spin or two, but nothing that didn’t yield to a little bit of lateral thinking, and a few “gimmes” to get the ball rolling. 4d, 10d, 23a, 26d and 28a all get big ticks from me today, but it almost would have been easier just to refer to the list below; there are so many good ‘uns. 26d gets top spot for the combination of conciseness, surface and misdirection. Thanks, Dada, for an absolute delight.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
Sunday Toughie 233 (Hints)
Sunday Toughie No 233
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A cracking puzzle from Zandio, I solved this with less stress than watching the England game last night, although 3d and 13a took a bit of pondering.
My stress levels have soared as the installation of new broadband is not going smoothly…
I hope you find the checkers to finish, and I will try to give a nudge if required.
Here We Go…