30141 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 30141

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30141

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Thursday. I believe that a RayT cryptic is the only puzzle where the Telegraph Puzzles editor allows a so-called lift and separate clue, specifically the use of SWEETHEART to mean SWEET HEART = the letter at the centre or heart of SWEET. Many of us recognize that signature device and on Thursdays automatically read sweetheart in wordplay as E. But that approach doesn’t work today, because this fine puzzle contains three quite different sweethearts. It also has two wonderful all-in-one clues.  All that plus smooth surfaces and concise tight wordplay made for a very enjoyable solve.  Continue reading "DT 30141"