Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31032
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from my lakeside retreat near Ottawa which I am visiting for one of the final times this year as I will soon have to close up for the winter.
I think today’s puzzle was well-pitched for a Monday. As X-Type seems to have been our most frequent setter recently, the puzzle may be one of his – but I have an abysmal track record when it comes to identifying setters.
While it has been a few weeks since I last reviewed a puzzle, I have been keeping an eye on what has been happening on the blog. I did note the discussion regarding lurkers and reverse lurkers and the observation that they deserved an entry in the FAQ. They now have one.
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.
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Sunday Toughie No 190
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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I wasn’t expecting Beam last night, Sunday Toughie 187 was his last outing, but even without the byline, you couldn’t mis-identify this. Concise clues (I don’t need to do the math to know he is well under six words per clue) Initial letters, a few bits of “ooh er missus” innuendo, Queens, sweethearts and policemen too.
A generous 16a and 16d clues today, and I have hinted half.
Here we go, Folks…
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Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3334 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg and welcome to the Sunday Edition of Big Dave’s Book Crossword Club 
(Check Comment 16 in yesterday’s blog if you think I have lost my marbles, which I probably have.)
I feel a little sorry for the Wallaroos only being allowed to score one try yesterday. I wonder if Scotland will be allowed to score more than that today.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirky with some strange indicators and causing me a few problems in the NW – 7 anagrams (3 partials), no lurkers, and no homophones all in a slightly asymmetric 30 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!
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31031 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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Toughie No 3548 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
This is a proper 19d from Osmosis with loads of clever wordplay, a lack of anagrams and a minimum of obscurities. I made solid progress through the puzzle until I got held up (largely due to 7d) in the NE corner. Many thanks to our setter for the entertainment.
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Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31025
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 6th September 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, entertaining 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 31025 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3547 by Light
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
Gently chucklesome, yet whip-smart – a whisper of ©Light GK (2d, etc), some sly indicators (e.g.… Continue reading
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31029
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ****
No doubting who set this one. Unlike your usual Thursday blogger I’m too lazy to do the maths but it’s the usual impressively low average word count & cleverly concise clueing. I found it pretty straightforward to complete but had some hesitation where underlining the definitions was concerned. Many thanks to Ray T for a very enjoyable puzzle.
Got to dash off for golf so I hope the hints are error free.
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.
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