Big Dave's Crossword Blog – Page 17 – Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English

Toughie 3652

Toughie No 3652 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza

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

Karla has upped the difficulty level a bit since his last Toughie but this is still pretty accessible and it’s very enjoyable. Many thanks to him.
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DT 31186

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31186

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I couldn’t see today’s Quickie Pun. Not sure if that’s because I’m American or because I’m tired, but I hope somebody from the commentariat will help out there.  Continue reading "DT 31186"

 Jane – New Update April 29th

April 29th:  Another update from Jane herself a few days ago. There is some progress but it is slow and she hopes that the considerable number of daily tablets are being effective. Mobility has been affected by two and half months in a hospital bed and she will be having physio to address this. She is being looked after by one of her daughters and regular visits from the district nurses.

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DT 31181 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31181

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 7th March 2026

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, lovely 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 31181 (Full Review)”

Toughie 3651

Toughie No 3651 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by ALP

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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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DT 31185

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31185

Hints and Tips by Senf

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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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