Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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I asked Claude, “A themed crossword puzzle has the title ‘Gripping Yarns’. On the basis that this title is unlikely to refer to riveting tales, what might the theme of the puzzle be?”
OK, let me try this again! A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this blog is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
On Thursday, we experienced blizzard conditions, with winds gusting to over 55mph and temperatures in the minus 20s before the mythical ‘feels like’ was taken into consideration, resulting from an Atmospheric River that originated somewhere over the Pacific Ocean reinforced by an Alberta Clipper once it had crossed the Rockies and ‘running into’ a Polar Vortex over Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with four long ‘uns, six anagrams (one partial), two lurkers (one reversed), and no homophones in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31115 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by Cryptic-Sloop John Bee)
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Today is the start of Christmas for many, but we only have one seasonal clue today. I am sure there will be more before the big day. I still have a stock-take to do, so I will be spending Monday and Tuesday up an enormous scissor lift counting screws!
I assume I have been overthinking 22a, but I still have niggling doubts as to the parsing there. I am also unsure as to the setter today, so the Charles III pound coin with the bees on will remain in my coin wallet.
As Christmas Day draws near, the village elders would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2026.
A special thank you to all the Telegraph setters, especially to those who have taken the time to leave comments on the blog, and to Chris Lancaster, James Brydon, Michael Baker and the editorial team at Telegraph Puzzles for their work over the year.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3604 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
This is fairly gentle for a Friday Toughie but very enjoyable – thanks to Karla.
Continue reading “Toughie 3604”
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I found today’s grid fill fairly straightforward, but there were a few clues where figuring out the parsing took some time . Continue reading "DT 31114"
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This puzzle was published on 13th December 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, challenging 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 31109 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
An absolute joy from Silvanus today. Very classy indeed. We’ve got sport, alcohol and naked dancing. What’s not to like? Just chuck in a board game or two and you’ve got the perfect Christmas! It’s all typically immaculate and fair. And, most importantly, great fun. Over to you.
