Toughie No 3634 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***
Category: Weatherman
Toughie 3602
Toughie No 3602 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A welcome return from Weatherman. As ever, the construction is immaculate and definitions fair, making for a steady solve. Yes, there is some pretty exotic vocab here – but it’s all generously clued. Still, I’ve tacked an extra difficulty pip on, largely for 5d and 9d. Typically, he’s made my bid to clip tunes extremely difficult, which no doubt comes as a great relief. Alas, I haven’t been totally defeated! Over to you. Continue reading “Toughie 3602”
Toughie 3581
Toughie No 3581 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
Whybird is away for a couple of Tuesdays and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of filling in for him. This is my debut on Toughie blogging duty, so please be gentle with me. I don’t know whether the DT uses different grids for Toughies, but I have never blogged a puzzle with only 24 clues. Sadly this and the lack of a Quickie Pun will weaken my negotiating position when I approach Gazza for a pay rise!
I got the four long answers first and then made reasonably steady progress until grinding to a halt in the SW corner. 17a, 16d and 18d delayed me for far too long but with hindsight, of course, they probably shouldn’t have done. It’s a good job the blogging deadline for Toughies is 14.00 and not 11.00!
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 Weatherman and to the DT Crossword Team.
Toughie 3561
Toughie No 3561 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from the Wirral. Well, the Slavonian Grebe decided it wasn’t going to hang around for a windy weekend, but the blow brought decent numbers of Leach’s Petrel and assorted other seabird goodies to the North Wirral coast. Quite how a bird no bigger than a blackbird survives out in the open ocean always amazes me.
Moving on from the wonders of the natural world, we have a wonder of the cruciverbal kind today. Weatherman has given us an absolute cracker, with lots of elegant surfaces and a lashings of deception and misdirection. I didn’t find it too hard, although I’ve added an extra half-star for the time it took to dig out some of the parsings. There’s a healthy dose of science today, too, which played into my stronger suit. There are so many wonderful surfaces, I’m spoilt for choice (3d, 6d, 8d, 22a in particular) but my prize goes to 1d, closely followed by 16a and 31a.
Thank you, Weatherman, for a wonderful puzzle.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Toughie 3545
Toughie No 3545 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Hello and welcome to Toughie Tuesday! I am still coping diligently with the views over the loch towards Bengairn and the ever-changing moods of Dumfries and Galloway’s scenery, with supporting cast of buzzards, red kites, kestrels, peregrines, ravens and a very impressive hirundine roost. … Continue reading
Toughie 3530
Toughie No 3530 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment **
Toughie 3507
Toughie No 3507 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Weatherman slides fizzily into the Thursday slot with muscle and menace.… Continue reading
Toughie 3485
Toughie No 3485 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
Tis a rare Tuesday treat to be gifted a Weatherman – he’s back with a sharp but light touch.… Continue reading
Toughie 3454
Toughie No 3454 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Toughie 3438
Toughie No 3438 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **