Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31052
Hints and Tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg. I was going to ask Dijon if he wanted to help me today but he has gone off in a huff, probably crying into his Grey Poupon, because I didn’t respond to his comment on Saturday.
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a very enjoyable challenge in a symmetrical 28 clues. I am boldly prepared to put a shiny new King Charles Toonie on this being a Hudson production but there is always a chance that I might be incorrect.
Continue reading “DT 31052”
Sunday Telegraph No 3336
A full review by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on 28th September 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Continue reading “ST 3336 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3561 by Weatherman
Hints and tips by Whybird
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from the Wirral. Well, the Slavonian Grebe decided it wasn’t going to hang around for a windy weekend, but the blow brought decent numbers of Leach’s Petrel and assorted other seabird goodies to the North Wirral coast. Quite how a bird no bigger than a blackbird survives out in the open ocean always amazes me.
Moving on from the wonders of the natural world, we have a wonder of the cruciverbal kind today. Weatherman has given us an absolute cracker, with lots of elegant surfaces and a lashings of deception and misdirection. I didn’t find it too hard, although I’ve added an extra half-star for the time it took to dig out some of the parsings. There’s a healthy dose of science today, too, which played into my stronger suit. There are so many wonderful surfaces, I’m spoilt for choice (3d, 6d, 8d, 22a in particular) but my prize goes to 1d, closely followed by 16a and 31a.
Thank you, Weatherman, for a wonderful puzzle.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3561”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31051
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers.
I’m on Tuesday blogging duty today, as Huntsman is away for a few days’ golf on some of the excellent courses on the beautiful North Norfolk coast. If the weather up there is as good as it is here, he is in for a lovely few days.
I found this a bit trickier than normal for a Tuesday, or maybe it’s just me being a bit slow out of the blocks this morning? It was a bit disconcerting when 1a took me ages to parse, but in retrospect, it shouldn’t have done. There is an unindicated Americanism which might irk RD, but as it is in the Quickie Pun, I think our setter is off the hook!
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 setter and to the DT Crossword Team.
Continue reading “DT 31051”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31050
Hints and tips by Smylers
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ★⯨ – Enjoyment ★★★
Hello from Ilkley, where this year’s Ilkley Literature Festival has started. This weekend all four of us saw Gyles Brandreth on AA Milne; Spouse and I saw Stuart Maconie on The Beatles; and Spouse has also seen Rachel Joyce and Emma Freud, and a talk on the material world of Austen and the Brontës. The festival runs for another fortnight, during which time we’ll see Simon Armitage (Poet Laureate), Lady Hale (former Supreme Court Judge), and Jo Hamilton (wrongly convicted subpostmaster), among others less famous. Some events are streamed online, so you don’t even have to live nearby if you’d like to see them.
The festival was founded in 1973, with WH Auden appearing that year, making it the second-longest-running book festival in the UK. Quiz question for you: which is the longest-running?
Today’s Telegraph crossword has a helpful grid and contains no obscure vocabulary, but it took me a while to decode some of the wordplay and cryptic definitions. Hints, explanations, and hidden answers are below.
Continue reading “DT 31050”
Sunday Toughie No 193
by Light
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
I struggled to get going last night, but I think I can blame the woolly-headedness on the lingering cold that is slooowly releasing its grip on my nasal cavities.
I did like 7 and 8d, but I may be overthinking the archery link
A somewhat imbalanced 16a and 13d clues today, and I have hinted half(ish) I hope you get the checkers to finish, I will give a nudge or two if required.
Here we go, Folks…
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 193 (Hints)”
Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3337 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where I have enjoyed a week of R and R in unseasonably warm Autumn weather.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada not as friendly as he has been – one long ‘un, 8 anagrams (6 partials), 1 lurker, and 1 (partial) homophone all in an asymmetric 29 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should/might be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. And, remember, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Continue reading “ST 3337 (Hints)”
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31049 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
Continue reading “DT 31049 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3560 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Elgar’s Proper Friday Toughie is a pangram, which may or may not help you finish solving the puzzle. Some nice helpful four-letter solutions together with a few longer ones that did take quite a bit of thought and muttering to parse!
Continue reading “Toughie 3560”