Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
Toughie No 3584 by Elgar
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Elgar is not quite at his most fiendish today but it’s all very clever and enjoyable. Thanks to him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3584”
+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another challenging Friday back-page puzzle. Continue reading "DT 31084"
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on 8th November 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata.… Continue reading
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Quintessential Beam today – very tight, very clean. Surprisingly clean-ish, in fact. But don’t worry, the usual wit is still there. 1d, for one! As for difficulty, it really rather depends on whether you’ve got your synonym head on, or not. The bottom half flew in but the top was perhaps slightly knottier. 9a’s “sensitive”, for example, took some thought, though the definition couldn’t have been clearer. In short, a delight, and a lovely way to mark my 100th blog. Where on earth did the time go, eh? All yours.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31083
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
I really enjoyed this perfectly pitched Thursday back page puzzle. Some great surface reads and plenty of clues requiring us to drop or add letters to keep us on our toes. Loads of ticks on my page, including 9a, 22a, 27a, 4d, 6d, 15d and 17d, with my CoD going to 12a – a clever construction and a great word. I will leave you to play “Guess the Setter” as I have no idea. Perhaps he/she will drop in later to take a bow.
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.
Many thanks to our mystery setter and to the DT Crossword Team.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Sue is still off games and we all wish her well, but don’t worry – she’ll be doing star jumps again before you know it. So, I’m afraid you’ve got me instead. You’ll just have to be terribly, terribly brave! Some vintage references from Light today – a 1966 footballer, a post-war singer and a grand old comic. Nostalgic fun. All yours.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31082
Hints and Tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
A really entertaining midweek puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed – many thanks to our setter.
Continue reading “DT 31082”
Toughie No 3581 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
Whybird is away for a couple of Tuesdays and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of filling in for him. This is my debut on Toughie blogging duty, so please be gentle with me. I don’t know whether the DT uses different grids for Toughies, but I have never blogged a puzzle with only 24 clues. Sadly this and the lack of a Quickie Pun will weaken my negotiating position when I approach Gazza for a pay rise!
I got the four long answers first and then made reasonably steady progress until grinding to a halt in the SW corner. 17a, 16d and 18d delayed me for far too long but with hindsight, of course, they probably shouldn’t have done. It’s a good job the blogging deadline for Toughies is 14.00 and not 11.00!
In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.
Many thanks to Weatherman and to the DT Crossword Team.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ****
It looks like there will be some prospect of a dry(ish) day in these parts after yesterday’s downpours & with more in the forecast for tomorrow. The Algarve is looking more enticing by the day.
I thought today’s Anthony Plumb production very enjoyable indeed. Not too tricky but with maybe one or two things to keep us on our toes. As ever elegantly & precisely clued with some neat witty surfaces.
It remains to be seen if the hints are error free & there are the usual selection of tunes to listen to or ignore.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from snowy Ottawa where we are experiencing our first snowfall of the season. It began about noon yesterday and is forecast to continue for most of the week. Not a great deal is expected – perhaps only six inches or so.
We have a gentle puzzle to start the week which was much appreciated as I prepare the review Sunday evening and arrived home late from an earlier engagement having had to drive home on snow-covered, slippery roads.
I would like to take this opportunity to make a comment on the term “all-in-one clue” which we often see on the blog. My recollection – and I stand to be corrected by longer serving members of the blogging crew – is that Big Dave introduced this term as an alternative to “&lit. clue” which he regarded as pretentious jargon that did not align with his vision of explaining clues “in plain language”. In those early days, we used the terms all-in-one and semi-all-in-one in place of &lit. and semi-&lit. respectively. Over the years, this term seems to have acquired a broader meaning – perhaps through uninformed usage by more recent members to the community who inferred its meaning without knowing its origin – and I now see it being applied to other types of clues that, similar to &lit clues, don’t have distinct definition and wordplay components such as cryptic definitions and even acrostic clues. Thus it would seem that it is no longer a precise term for one particular type of clue but has become an umbrella term for a collection of clue types. I know it is unlikely that the hands of time can be rolled back, so – ironically – it would appear that if one wishes to be precise when discussing &lit. clues, one must fall back on the very term that Big Dave strove to avoid.
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.