Prime – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie 3667

Toughie No 3667 by Prime
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ***/****

This seemed quite tricky mid-solve, so I was surprised to look at the clock afterwards – it was actually pretty speedy. I think such contradiction was largely because it took me a moment to find a way in and most of the shorts needed at least one crosser to crack. There is a smidgeon of vocab (12a) and a dollop of religion (12d, etc) but nothing outlandish and all fairly clued. Over to you. Continue reading “Toughie 3667”

Toughie 3594

Toughie No 3594 by Prime
Hints and tips by Shabbo

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good morning, fellow puzzlers.  It’s me again on Wednesday Toughie duty, stepping in for ALP/CS.

Pleasant Prime puzzle, perfectly pitched, posing particularly proficient problems.  17a was a new word for me, but it is fairly clued. The Barking dialect at 24a and the famous mother-in-law at 5d are my joint favourites.

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.

Many thanks to Prime and to the DT Crossword Team.

Continue reading “Toughie 3594”

Toughie 3579

Toughie No 3579 by Prime
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **+ Enjoyment *****

Somewhat of a tour de force from Prime today: smartly studded with pith and wit. It took me a moment to find my stride but, from then on, this was a fair and fizzy romp. I loved it. Over to you.

Continue reading “Toughie 3579”