Toughie No 3729 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Welcome to another Toughie Week.
For once I managed to Guess the Setter, so started with a win, and the North went in fairly rapidly. However, Chalicea has thrown a couple of curve balls today that had me scrabbling around to check both existence and meaning, and I also came up with what I thought was a reasonable answer for 27a which, being incorrect, made the SW trickier. I particularly liked 1a, 4d, 6a, 13a 28a and 30a but I’m giving my Gold Medal position to 16d.
Thank you, Chalicea, for an enjoyable start to the week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
I am taking a brief sabbatical for the next couple of weeks in an attempt to catch up with some “glorified seagulls”. Next week, you will have Gazza and the following week ALP, so thanks to both for filing in.
Continue reading “Toughie 3729”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31302
Hints and tips by Smylers
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BD Rating – Difficulty ★★ – Enjoyment ★★
Hello. It was lovely to meet some of you in Birmingham on Saturday. Thank you to everybody who came, and especially those who bought me drinks that I didn’t manage to reciprocate. And commiserations to those who’d hoped to be there but couldn’t make it.
Here’s a character I found lazing around at New Street station, presumably tired out from celebrating their 75th birthday. Please see my album of photos from the day for who else was there.
Continue reading “DT 31302”
Sunday Toughie 235 by Silvanus
Hints & Tips by Sloop John Bee
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 235”
Enigmatic Variations 1757 (Hints)
RELOCATION RELOCATION by KOLYA
Hints and tips by Gabriel
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Quite a long and involved preamble and a solution requiring multiple steps. You’ll probably need to set aside a chunk of time to crack this – not to mention the entire perimeter is just four clued (12) lights.… Continue reading
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3379 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg. Recall that four weeks ago I introduced the concept of ‘a ‘run’ of three ‘close together’ blogging milestones for me’; well, today is the second of those milestones my 400th Dada Sunday blog. However, only 99.5% perfect as, including today, there have been 402 Dada Sunday puzzles altogether, starting with the horror of ST 2978 on November 18th, 2018, with Crypticsue and Shabbo subbing for me once each,.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very friendly with two long ‘uns, four anagrams (one partial), one lurker, and two(?) homophones, all in a very asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3379 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31301 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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Continue reading “DT 31301 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3728 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31295
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 18th July 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A lovely Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31295 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3727 by Kcit
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***/****
Fairly breezy for a Thursday Toughie. 26a was unknown to me but the wordplay’s pretty clear. Having said that, 1a was the last to fall. Not because it’s tricky – it’s not – but because the definition is anathema to me. I have long tried – and failed miserably – to ban them. What on earth is their point? They just get in the bloomin’ way when you’re making the bed! The floor, as ever, is yours.
Continue reading “Toughie 3727”