Big Dave's Crossword Blog – Page 149 – Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English

DT 30799

by Huntsman  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30799
Hints and tips by Huntsman

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

A pretty dull & miserable looking morning here in Harpenden but it’s not raining & not cold. I’m off up to Tigh Mor in the Trossachs tomorrow for Christmas so no doubt it’ll be a darn sight colder up there.

I can’t in all honesty say that I’d rank today’s puzzle up there with AP’s best. Perhaps it’s just me but I felt it lacked some of his witty surfaces so it’ll be interesting to see what others thought. It was, as you would expect, precisely clued.

In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.

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DT 30798

by Smylers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30798

Hints and tips by Smylers

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

Hello, fellow commoners. If the Telegraph crossword is common, then I certainly have no wish to be anything else. How ridiculous anyway, suggesting that you should decide what to put on your pudding not based not on what you’ll enjoy eating most but on how posh or common some others will judge your choice! But at least the article used the term ‘U’, not often encountered these days outside of crosswords, thereby justifying setters’ continued use of ‘posh’ to indicate that letter.

The Daily Telegraph crossword on Mondays is one of the best places to learn how to solve cryptic crosswords. If over the Christmas period you encounter any students who show any inclination towards crosswords, do let them know they can have a free subscription, including Telegraph Puzzles — and of course make sure they know about Big Dave’s Crossword Blog for help with working out what’s going on.

Today’s puzzle is a treat for those who like putting one thing inside another. Do leave a comment saying how you got on with it.

Here in Ilkley this weekend we had the Rudolph’s Run parade of decorated tractors passing through — illuminated farm vehicles as far as the eye could see. (Our household’s resident statistician counted 213 of them go past.)

a tractor with fairy lights on it driving past a tower block, with another behind it, and more behind that, tailing off into the distance
a tractor outlined with with fairy lights, and more on the inside of its wheels, with reindeer shapes on its front attachment, also illuminated an illuminated tractor lifting a massive model rudolph at the wrong, with lit-up red nose and antlers

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Sunday Toughie 151 (Hints)

by Sloop John Bee  

Sunday Toughie No 151

by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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Problems printing last night have delayed this a bit but I liked the trademark proXimalisms and the Star Trek references.

We have 14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half and a few bonus pics. I hope you find the checkers to get over the line 

Got to go and keep the shopaholic Mama Bee happy but I will be back by the time this is published.

Here we go, Folks…

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