Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31153
Hints and tips by Huntsman
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***/****
Yet another cold & dreary looking day here in Harpenden. Roll on spring & a return to the fairways.
As Senf would say a Typically Tuesdayish puzzle which I’m assuming is the work of Anthony Plumb. I think I was a little unfair on last week’s production & certainly out of kilter with the majority of comment so am rather relieved that I found this one very enjoyable for the relatively short time it lasted. As ever tightly clued & with some humour in there too.
As usual there are an assortment of clips to enjoy 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.
Continue reading “DT 31153”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31152
Hints and tips by Falcon
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Ottawa, where we are about to get a respite from a spell of bitterly cold weather (overnight lows below -20C and daytime highs below -12C). This week daytime temperatures will reach a more comfortable -5C. Our annual three week long Winterlude Festival has begun and the conditions are the best they have been in years. You can catch a glimpse of the preparations for the festivities in this video.
I found this to be a puzzle where the answers needed to be slowly teased out as the grid filled. In the end, I felt I had made harder work of it than it should have required. Nevertheless, it was certainly far from an unpleasant experience (and would have been even more enjoyable had I not been working under blogging pressure).
As the only way to halt my losing streak of setter predictions seems to be to stop predicting, I will not venture a guess this time.
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.
Continue reading “DT 31152”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31151 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
The first and most important thing I have to do today (even more important than providing hints for the Prize Puzzle and mentioning today’s gathering at Little Venice) is to wish Daisygirl’s husband George a very very happy 93rd birthday and hope that he enjoys the family celebrations of this great occasion
Continue reading “DT 31151 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3628 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Karla for an entertaining and not too tricky puzzle.
I am hoping to see many of you at Bridge House tomorrow.
Continue reading “Toughie 3628”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31145
A full review by Rahmat Ali
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on 24th January 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, lovely Saturday puzzle from NYDK that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31145 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3627 by Django
Hints and tips by ALP
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
I always enjoy a Django: fun definitions and smart wordplay. Very gentle from him today, kicking off with a straight-in Spooner that rather set the tone. No bad thing – I’ve long suspected that setting a gentle but entertaining puzzle is even harder than setting a tough one. Over to you.
Continue reading “Toughie 3627”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31149
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A very good Thursday morning from Wincanton where we escaped the wrath of Storm Chandra, but only just, Yeovil about 15 miles to the SW, and beyond, did not escape.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), the Master of Brevity has given us an enjoyable puzzle which caused some pauses for thought for solving and parsing. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance of the Queen but not the sweetheart. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Continue reading “DT 31149”
Toughie No 3626 by Prime
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Continue reading “Toughie 3626”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31148
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ****
Good morning from Hampshire, where the sun is shining again after yesterday’s deluge. I found today’s puzzle to be quite a challenge, and it took me a while to get going, but in the end it was well worth the effort. I especially liked 4d, and the Beatle-themed 27a and 5d, but the pick of today’s clues for me is the magnificent 19a. Many thanks to today’s setter. Continue reading “DT 31148”