30783 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 30783

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30783
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Good morning.  Back to my usual Thursday slot and a nicely challenging puzzle to keep us all on our toes.

Quite a few clues involve adding, removing or swapping letters, so it pays to follow the wordplay carefully. A bit of GK is required at 13a, 8d, 12d & 20d, but nothing too tricky. I think 14a is a lovely anagram and we are treated to smooth surface reads virtually throughout.

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Thank you, setter.
Continue reading “DT 30783”