Big Dave's Crossword Blog – Page 13 – Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English

Toughie 3660

by Gazza  

Toughie No 3660 by Notabilis
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****

It was a delightful surprise to find the name of Notabilis on today’s Toughie. We haven’t had a puzzle from him since Toughie 3036 almost exactly three years ago and his clever and very entertaining puzzles have been much missed. I do hope that today’s appearance signals his return on a regular basis. Many thanks to him for today’s splendid puzzle which is not fiendishly difficulty; I only needed to verify the 26a trickster.
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DT 31193 (Full Review)

by Rahmat Ali  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31193

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 21st March 2026

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, entertaining Saturday puzzle from NYDK that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31193 (Full Review)”

Toughie 3659

by ALP  

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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DT 31197

by Senf  

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!

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Toughie 3658

by crypticsue  

Toughie  No 3658 by Silvanus

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****

Only just a Toughie but the usual excellent Silvanus crossword

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DT 31196

by Deansleigh  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31196
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh

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BD Rating – Difficulty **  Enjoyment ***/****

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog.  I started fairly quickly with this one but was held up in the NW corner by the cryptic definitions and the Spoonerism, pushing me into 2* time.  There are some excellent clues in today’s puzzle, with plenty of smooth surface readings.  I had ticks all over the page, but my favourite clue today, and the one that gave me the biggest laugh, was the superb 26d.   Many thanks to today’s setter.

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