Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Gemini is improving. When I asked it how to deal with the preamble below it actually proposed a sensible structured solving process.… Continue reading
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where approximately five hours after this puzzle is published the Winter Solstice will occur marking the start of astronomical winter and the beginning of increasing daylight hours for six months.
After a couple of evenings gallivanting around the Province it was very pleasant to spend a ‘quiet evening in’ undertaking my favourite pastime of imbibing a not see wee dram of The Balvenie.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada still somewhat quirky, especially when it came to anagram indicators, with seven anagrams (three partials), two lurkers (one reversed), and one homophone in a symmetric, for a change, 30 clues; with 15 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 31109 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by Gazza)
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No prizes for guessing who today’s setter is. He’s given us a very enjoyable puzzle.… Continue reading
Toughie No 3600 by Elgar
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
Elgar provides his usual mixture of a few gimmes and quite a lot of head-scratchers. I enjoyed battling through it. Thanks to him.
The clue which gave me most problems was 4d and I’m not totally convinced that I understand the ‘shepherd’ bit so do shout out if you have a better idea than mine. [Deansleigh61 has come to the rescue with the correct parsing – see his comment] Continue reading “Toughie 3600”
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Continue reading "DT 31108"
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This puzzle was published on 6th December 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A truly brilliant and superb 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 31103 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
As ever with Beam, this isn’t too tricky – as long as your phaser is set to synonym. Some are perhaps slightly more left-field than usual but nowt too alarming. Great fun to be had, with only a little thesaurus-thumbing. And not just one sweetheart today, but two, possibly to make up for the Queen’s absence! All yours.
Continue reading “Toughie 3599”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31107
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
Another lovely Thursday back-pager to keep us out of mischief today. Quite tricky in parts, but a most enjoyable solve. Smooth surfaces throughout and it’s definitely not RayT, so I will leave you, dear reader, to suggest a possible setter. So many lovely clues, from which I will pick 13a, 15a, 21a, 6d, 18d and 20d as my favourites. Which ones did you like?
Many thanks to our setter and to the DT Crossword Team.
