Toughie No 3679 by Karla
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****/*****
Great fun from Karla today. Pretty friendly, I’d say, for a Thursday and no harm in that on a beautifully sunny day. Nowt that’s remotely obscure – the only arguably less-than-everyday 5d is served up on a plate. Smart, gettable wordplay and some well-worked, credible surfaces. Very enjoyable. All yours.
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EV1743
Moral Tale by Stick Insect
Solution
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31227
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Today’s puzzle is just one letter short of a pangram which is a strong hint as to the setter. Thanks to him for a very enjoyable challenge.
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Toughie No 3678 by Light
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31226
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 puzzle to be about the same level of difficulty as yesterday’s, with some general knowledge required, but everything fairly clued throughout. As usual there were many excellent clues today. Amongst my favourites were 1a, 10a, 3d and 5d, but I especially liked the hapless president in 15d and the brilliant 9d. Many thanks to our setter.
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Sunday Toughie No 221 by Beam
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 19th of April 2026
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3365
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 19th April 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A slightly tough puzzle from Dada this Sunday which I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review for your kind perusal and valuable feedback. Continue reading “ST 3365 (Full Review)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31224
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa, where spring has finally arrived – about a month later than the calendar would have one believe. In Canada, spring is Stanley Cup Playoffs season, the competition for the championship of the National Hockey League. I can now well empathize with those on the blog who have lately been bemoaning the fate of their favourite football clubs. The hockey team I root for, the Ottawa Senators, had a dismal start to the season falling to near the bottom of the league. The second half of the season was the polar opposite – the team had one of the best (if not the best) records in the league allowing them to barely squeak into the playoffs. However, that was the end of the fairy tale season and they fell in four straight games in round one.
Today’s puzzle provided a fairly gentle mental workout to prepare us for the more demanding offerings we will undoubtedly encounter later in the week. UK solvers likely had a bit of an edge on me as it took a few extra minutes to sort out the character from the British children’s novel with whom I was not familiar. As for the setter, the Monday rotation appears to be Weatherman twice a month (on Smyler’s shift) with Heron once a month and the remaining position (today) filled by a mystery setter or setters.
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.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.
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Toughie No 3676 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This is not Osmosis at his most fiendish but it is still worthy of the Friday Toughie slot. Thanks to him for the very enjoyable challenge with well-disguised definitions and clever wordplay (and extra kudos for forswearing anagrams).
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