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DT 31158

by Smylers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31158

Hints and tips by Smylers

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BD Rating – Difficulty ★ – Enjoyment ★★★★

Hello. My cast is off, so I have both hands available for typing again. My left wrist is still weak though: things I’ve recently discovered I’m still unable to do include stabbing a piece of (raw) carrot with a fork, and clap. I was at a black-tie industry dinner on Friday, which mainly seemed to exist so that the people who organized it could all thank each other in turn; I ended up miming a lot of applauding.

Anyway, on to today’s Telegraph cryptic crossword, which I found perfect for those who prefer more straightforward crosswords on a Monday. There was no obscure vocabulary, so if the 13-year-old doesn’t have any homework today, I’m considering printing this out for them to do instead.

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DT 31151 (Full Review)

by Rahmat Ali  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31151

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 31st January 2026

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A lovely straightforward 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 31151 (Full Review)”

Toughie 3631

by ALP  

Toughie No 3631 by Beam
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ***/****

Standard Beam fare – a sweetheart, a queen and an imaginative, tight word count … but no lavatorial humour today. Who could he have been listening to?! Over to you.

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DT 31154

by Deansleigh  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31154
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh

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

Good morning from a chilly but sunny south Hampshire.  Today we have another excellent back-pager, with so many fine clues it was hard to choose a favourite.  I especially liked 1a, 9a, 19a, 2d and 3d, but topping the podium for me today is the tipsy clergyman in 8d.  Many thanks to today’s setter. Continue reading “DT 31154”

Toughie 3629

by Whybird  

Toughie No 3629 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird

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

Hello and welcome to another Toughie week.  Could someone kindly go out and switch the Wirral’s daylight on, please?  It still feels like nighttime, although I know it isn’t, thanks to a disturbed night courtesy of Lord Alfie-du-Sniffs who dragged me from my slumbers twice for access to the garden… I should take that as a positive, but I’d much rather he hadn’t helped himself to whatever dubious substances he found whilst fossicking around Birkenhead Park yesterday!

We have something of a challenging puzzle from Dada today – definitely no Floughie for me. My heart sank when I saw the grid – I always find the proliferation of unchecked initial letters to be a challenge.  Then I thought we might be on for an easy-to-spot Nina that may have helped, but, alas, no such luck – at least not as far as I can see!  The solve wasn’t helped by getting my first one in (9a) wrong – being too clever for my own good.  There are some quite tough nuts to crack amongst a smattering of “Gimmes”, and to my taste there are too many onomatopoeic-like terms employed.  But there are also some gems, and some “usual suspects” with lesser-spotted  – but perfectly fair – meanings to get the cogs whirring.  Rosettes from me today for 15a (my last one in), 20a and 4d, but my overall prize goes to 2d.

Thanks to Dada for unlocking the mental machinery, and for the first time in a while providing me with an obvious bird illustration!

Please let us know how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle

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