31308 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 31308

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31308

Hints and tips by Falcon

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BD Rating  –  Difficulty * –  Enjoyment ***

Greetings from Ottawa, where our mid-summer long weekend has proven to be, for the most part, a cloudy and rainy affair. This follows on the heels of July which, if I recall correctly, has been reported to be the second wettest on record. However, this paints a bit of a misleading impression of the month as most of the rain fell in the span of about 3 hours on a single day (July 1).

Today’s puzzle should serve as a gentle mental warmup to get the little grey cells prepared for the more challenging workouts likely to ensue as the week progresses. I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that the puzzle may be the handiwork of Heron. Be aware though, that my track record at identifying setters is dismal, at best.

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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