Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Currently Thursday does not appear to have a regular setter, although since Autumn 2010 Ray T features frequently. During 2009 almost all of the Thursday puzzles were set by Jay.
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
Bandit makes a welcome second appearance with yet more cleverness and truly immaculate surfaces. A dollop of history (huzzah!) and a smidgeon of science (boo!) but all very fairly clued. All yours.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31191
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 31191”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
A Donnybrook with no linked clues? What’s the world coming to?! Nicely playful with a vaguely classical bent and great fun as always. All yours.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, yesterday, I had the annual ‘delight’ of bending over and taking it like a man for my urologist. Still it was worth it; ‘Keep Calm And Carry On’ for another year!
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Mr Bringloe in the guise of Donnybrook is on Toughie duty, but no doubt that it 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 appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.25 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T 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!
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ***/****
It’s Beam, so you know what to expect – sweethearts, a Queen, a flurry of imaginative synonyms and no anagrams. Over to you.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31179
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
A really enjoyable puzzle which ticked all the boxes. Thanks to our setter.
Continue reading “DT 31179”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ***/****
Largely light, and scrupulous. There’s a spot of Scots vocab (6d), botany (7d) and geography (15a) but Silvanus is, of course, typically fair. The grid did prompt me to look for a Nina, but I certainly couldn’t spot one! Over to you.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where winter continues in both temperature and precipitation!
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), absolutely no doubt that this is a friendly back page half of a Dream Team Thursday from the Master of Brevity, with Silvanus on Toughie duty. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.38 words per clue and a Hmm for 18d. Also, like Dada, Ray T 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!
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
Highly enjoyable shenanigans from Kcit today with a smidgeon of tricky vocab (e.g. 16a’s “age”) and a pleasingly classical feel. There was, happily, no need to know about models of mobile phones popular in New Zealand this time out but I suspect not many of us (with two notable exceptions!) will be overly familiar with 20a’s definition. Still, it’s all fair – and fun. Over to you.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31167
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
A pleasant puzzle which shouldn’t cause too many problems. Thanks to our setter.
Continue reading “DT 31167”