Telegraph – Big Dave's Crossword Blog

DT 30480

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30480

Hints and tips by pommers

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Hola from Almoradí where summer has returned!  Average high temperature here in December is 17°C but Saturday we had 25°C, yesterday 27°C and it’s forecast to be the same today and tomorrow!  Cools down very quickly after sunset though and we do have a light duvet on the bed so it’s not really summer.

I’m going for Campbell as today’s setter as there are three puns in the Quickie and he’s back to his usual elegant style.  It’s not very taxing, and there are a couple of long anagrams to give plenty of checkers, but there are a couple of head scratchers to keep us on our toes.  Hope you all enjoyed it.
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Sunday Toughie 98 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 98


by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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We haven’t seen Zandio for a while – maybe they are saving him for the big one hundred on Christmas Eve

proXimal a little tougher than last time and a couple of pesky little four letter words took most of my parsing time last night 

We have hints for half of 14a and 16d clues today

Here we go, Folks…

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ST 3242 (Hints)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3242 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where relatively mild weather, with no great amount of precipitation, continues which has two possible outcomes; firstly, the city will be very happy that it is not spending thousands of dollars on snow clearance, and, secondly, the farmers will probably be complaining in the Spring and Summer about the lack of moisture in the soil. … Continue reading

Toughie 3180

Toughie No 3180 by Osmosis

Hints and tips by Dutch

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

I struggled with this today, could just be me. It seemed an unfortunate combination of vague definitions and more than average general knowledge

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.… Continue reading

Toughie 3179

Toughie No 3179 by Firefly
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

There’s a theme in today’s puzzle. All the definitions shown as ‘8’ in the clues are examples of the 8d answer when it’s split 4,4. Clever!

Thanks to Firefly for the entertainment.… Continue reading

DT 30477

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30,477
Hints and tips by Shabbo

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***


Our more experienced solvers will know the identity of our setter from his use of “sweetheart” in 17a. Ximenean sticklers will tell you that sweetheart cannot represent E, in much the same way as Maidenhead cannot represent M, but Libertarians will say that the intent is clear and therefore it is acceptable.… Continue reading