Enigmatic Variations 1674 (Hints)
Bang! by Chiffchaff
Hints and tips by Phibs
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Firstly, I would like to wish all EV solvers a very happy Christmas. ‘Tis the season when the sort of ‘jokes’ that I tell all year round are briefly back in fashion (of a sort). Oh yes, I know that Good King Wenceslas likes his pizzas deep pan, crisp and even; that snowmen go to the greengrocer’s to pick their noses; and that when Santa tried to sell Dancer and Prancer on eBay there were no takers because they were two deer…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3296 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we are on something of a temperature roller coaster; minus 20s in the week just completed, forecast to ‘warm up’ to minus 1 by ‘the day’ on Wednesday, and cooling down again for the start of 2025 with, of course, occasional sprinklings of the fluffy white stuff.… Continue reading
A Puzzle by Radler
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 308037 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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As this is my last on-the-day blog post before Christmas Day’s Toughie, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas
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Toughie No 3396 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
We can rely on Osmosis to give us a proper Toughie and I always enjoy the challenge he offers. There are no anagrams and no obvious gimmes (except 2d) here and each answer needs to be prised out. Thanks to the setter.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30797
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 14th December 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3395 by Kcit
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment **/***
I’m thankful that I’ve got a shortcut in Word for the word ‘abbreviation’ because there are an awful lot of them here. The puzzle didn’t pose any great problems and really belongs at the start of the week rather than on a Thursday. Thanks to Kcit.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30801
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Either I was on the setter’s wavelength from the start, or this was one of the gentlest Thursday crosswords that I have blogged. I shall let you be the judge of that. I spent most of the puzzle convincing myself that this was not the work of RayT, but then I came across the sweetheart in 25a and the Queen (albeit in a different guise) in 20d and all was well with the world. RayT it is. If we needed any more persuading, the average word count at 5.3 words/clue gives the game away. Interestingly (or not, you can decide!) all are single word solutions, but this is probably more a reflection on the grid rather than any intent of the part of our learned setter.
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. Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.
Thank you, Ray. Another lovely puzzle.
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EV1672
Loved Ones by Ranunculus
Setter’s Blog
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