30840 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 30840

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30840

Hints and tips by Falcon

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Greetings from Ottawa, where Winterlude, our annual winter festival, has got off to a very successful start. For the first time in three years we are actually experiencing winter-like weather – the ice sculptures are not melting and the entire length of the Rideau Canal Skateway is open. Temperatures are on bit of a roller coaster though with the daytime high cycling between -20 C and 0 C on almost a daily basis. To give you a taste, take a virtual stroll down Sparks Street as you watch the ice carvers at work and warm up by a fire while savouring Ottawa’s signature treat, the Beavertail (a delicious sugar-coated, deep fried pastry in the shape of a beaver’s tail).

I thought the puzzle was typical Monday fare although possibly lacking some of the usual sparkle – but perhaps that’s just me feeling a bit weary.

In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.

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