Toughie No 3577 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment *****
Welcome to the Toughie Week! Well, the hawfinches might not have been obliging, but RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands has delivered a very showy bittern and a closing time/dusk glossy ibis so not all of my feathered friends are avoiding me.
This is very much a Toughie from Donnybrook, to whom many thanks for the challenge. I did double-check the top right corner of the newspaper, and it assures me that it actually is a Tuesday today. There are a few “gimmes” to get things rolling, and whilst there is a chunk of general knowledge that I didn’t have to hand, the clues are all clear and precise; many are very clever indeed. My podium places today go to 2d, 3d and 8d, with 23a and 6d getting very honourable mentions.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
I am taking a short break from the blog – I’m being “sent” to Tokyo for work, and then taking the opportunity to go chasing cranes, owls and eagles. Shabbo has kindly volunteered to craft the blog for the next two Tuesdays, so thanks very much to him for that.
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Toughie No 3573 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
S’mae a chroeso i Ddydd Mawrth! Today finds The Present Lady Whybird and I in the North Wales village of Dolgarrog to celebrate a couple of anniversaries, notably our Wooden anniversary. As well as being the site of the world’s first man-made surf lagoon (sadly not currently operational) Dolgarrog has a poignant memorial garden commemorating the worst dam disaster in Wales, which includes some of the massive boulders washed down the hillside by the torrent almost hundred years ago to the day. On a less sombre note, the autumn colours in Bodnant garden are spectacular, although the hawfinches in Caerhun churchyard are as elusive as ever…
Chalicea has given us a very enjoyable, and (with one exception) not too tricky puzzle to start the Toughie week, so many thanks to her. Parsing 20a, and then having to use one of my lifelines to confirm my suspicions, has necessitated the extra half-star for difficulty. My favourites today are 22a and 15a, with the latter being my overall winner, even as a non-golfer.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3569 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
Happy Tuesday, everyone! Autumn’s colours continue to develop, the winter thrushes are still arriving in good numbers and the Wirral’s leaves are by-and-large staying on the trees: no doubt waiting for the Garden Waste collection to go into hibernation before crashing down and piling up.
Dada’s turn to break us into the Toughie week, and I thought this was perfectly pitched, with some gimmes to get things moving, and a lot of clever and nuanced deceptions. It was very much the proverbial “Crossword of two halves, Brian” with the NW going in very quickly (14d excepted) and then the SE taking a while to get sorted. My stand-outs (amongst a very good crop) were 1a and 28a. Thank you, Dada, for an excellent puzzle.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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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.
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Toughie No 3557 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */2 – Enjoyment ***
Greetings one and all. The pink-feet (and attendant fly-over squeaking) have continued to increase. but the major weekend excitement was (and still is) a very obliging Slavonian Grebe on West Kirby Marine Lake, and with sunshine to boot. Birders and general public have enjoyed a treat!
Chalicea, to whom, many thanks, has given us the mildest of puzzles today – so much so that I feel even a one-star difficulty would have been a bit OTT. I had to check a couple of elements to confirm my suspicions, but even these didn’t take much unearthing. I’m sure the resultant expanded GK will come in handy at some point. 13a, 19a and 30a get my rosettes today.
Hopefully the formatting has worked this week – thanks to CrypticSue for expanding the scope of Hints and Tips beyond untangling impenetrable crossword clues!
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3553 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from a chilly but sunny Wirral. The past few days have seen the start of the return of the Dee Estuary’s pink-footed geese, so my morning walks with Lord Alfie have been lifted by the sight and sound of the flypasts as they disperse to do goose things in the fields of the North-west. The spectacle will only increase over the next couple of weeks – but it does mean Winter is Coming…
Dada has given us a n excellent, perfect Tuesday-level puzzle today, with plenty of clues that made me smile. I found the North slightly chewier than the South today, which warranted the extra half-star for difficulty. And the more I went through this writing the Blog, the more I enjoyed and appreciated it. 1d, 10a and 19a in particular all floated my boat, but in the end I’ve given my rosette to 18d. Thank you, Dada. Chapeau!
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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 No 3537 by Prime
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
Right everyone. That’s enough of the Bank Holiday. … Continue reading
Toughie No 3533 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
Welcome to the Toughie week from an overcast but dry Wirral.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3529 by Stick Insect
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from the Wirral! Heatwave, eh? Well, I suppose the rain is warmer than normal.… Continue reading