31274 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 31274

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31274
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh

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

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog.   I found today’s crossword to be quite tricky – it took me longer than the previous two days’ puzzles put together.  However, I expect many of you will say that you sailed through this one with no problems at all!  Today we have a pangram for which a fair amount of general knowledge is needed, but everything is fairly clued.  I especially liked 5d, 7d and 18d, but my favourite today is 14a.

Many thanks to our setter: I’m going to take a punt on Hudson, who I know is fond of ursine national treasures such as 1a, as well as the legendary singer whose first name appears in 2d.

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