Toughie No 3675 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment *****
I thought this was pleasingly gentle for a Thursday, especially from Dharma. As ever, it’s all about wavelength, of course, so mileage may differ. But I’ve always found him immensely doable and fun. Still, I have begrudgingly tacked on an extra half just to acknowledge some of the arguably trickier wordplay. An absolute belter either way. Over to you. Continue reading “Toughie 3675”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31221
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty 2.5* – Enjoyment 4.5*
For those who honour it, a very good St George’s Day from Winnipeg where Spring may finally have sprung with rain as the only precipitation in the 14 day weather forecast!
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), if this were a Dada on Sunday I might be using the term quirky, once again not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Dharma on Toughie duty today, but no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart, but no second ‘sweetheart’ this week, appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.25 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Continue reading “DT 31221”
Toughie No 3671 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***/****
Not too tricky and typically fair. I suspect 25a, for one, would have taken longer to unpick without crossers but – with them – it flew in. So … pretty gentle for a Thursday, I’d say. All yours.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31215
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Thanks to today’s setter (I’ll leave you to guess his or her identity) for an enjoyable puzzle pitched at just the right level for a Thursday.
Continue reading “DT 31215”
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”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31209
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, yesterday, on the 19th day of Spring we woke up to fluffy white precipitation courtesy of an Alberta Clipper! Fortunately, in my area, there was only 5 to 10 cms and the roads and footpaths are already warm enough that it ‘self cleared.’
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a puzzle of two halves, North and South, but once again not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Prime on Toughie duty today, but no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart, don’t be confused by the second ‘sweetheart’ in 1d (check the hint), appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.2 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Continue reading “DT 31209”
Toughie No 3663 by Beam
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
Beam’s back with his usual flurry of synonyms, the Queen, a sweetheart, and – of course – no anagrams. Scant sauce though, so maybe he listened to Jane – of whom I know we are all thinking, especially having seen today’s latest update. Everything crossed.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31203
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Thanks to today’s setter (I’ll leave you to guess his or her identity) for an entertaining puzzle.
Continue reading “DT 31203”
Toughie No 3659 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
I was, as ever, at a loss how to rate this for difficulty. I pretty much skipped through it, thanks largely to Dharma’s typically fair definitions – hence the 2 not 2.5. But full parsing took slightly longer because of some original wordplay. I did, however, initially draw a blank up top, having to dot round the grid to find a way in. Once I did, though, it all slotted into place fairly quickly. And the north-west is not, in fact, nearly as impenetrable as it at first (to me) appeared. Dharma effectively gives us 1a on a plate as you have only to delete two letters and add one, so it really should have flown in immediately. Smart stuff – I’m still chuckling about 15d’s “flimsy house”. Outrageous! All yours.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31197
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where Winter is proving very reluctant to depart and we are getting some more snow although not significant amounts and probably not as bad as the hailstorm that my Big Sister experienced in Egham yesterday.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), once again not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Silvanus was on Toughie duty yesterday, but no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity once again. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart, don’t be confused by the ‘sweetheart’ in 9d (check the hint), appearing in the back pager with an average of 4.94 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Continue reading “DT 31197”
