Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Toughie No 3589 by Chalicea
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Konnichiwa! Which I have learned is the appropriate Japanese greeting for those viewing this shortly after the GMT publication time. Thank you to Shabbo for filling in whilst I was on my travels – very much appreciated! Cranes, eagles and owl all successfully tracked down and “ticked” along with many other avian delights, with the added bonus of great food, beautiful scenery (and some not-quite-so-beautiful fishing ports) and atmospheric Onsens. And plenty of 12d’s illustration in the moat of Tokyo’s Imperial Palace.
I was delighted to see Chalicea’s name on the page today; just the ticket for a return to duty, and I wasn’t disappointed. I found this to be reasonably straightforward, although leavened with some sneaky bits of “general not-knowledge” that I had to check. The clues are all clear and elegantly concise – definitely to my taste, although some of the NW corner held out a little longer than the rest. I particularly like 19a and 26d, and 6d also makes the podium for the solution being a lovely word. Thanks to Chalicea for such a warm welcome on my return to the Big Dave Blogosphere!
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
Distinctly nippy in these parts but bright & sunny so a walk around East & West Common in Harpenden looks on the menu for lunchtime.
Not sure what’s going on at Telegraph Towers but I’d suggest the person charged with pressing the button to load Tuesday’s puzzles onto the app undergoes further training. I think they eventually became available some time between 6.30am – 7am & just as I was about to set out to procure a dead tree version. Surely they can’t be that difficult to upload & that’s 2 weeks on the trot now.
Anyway I assume today’s offering is from Anthony Plumb. It certainly seemed like one of his to me but then so did last week’s puzzle which may well not have been. Either way it was certainly much gentler than last Tuesday though maybe a tad more challenging than yesterday.
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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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Ottawa where a dusting of snow overnight has created a wintery landscape. Christmas preparations are officially underway with the city’s Christmas tree having been lit on Friday and several Santa Claus parades occurring over the weekend. Many retailers, however, were putting out their Christmas displays before the Halloween goods were even off the shelves.
Today’s offering (presumably from X-Type) provides a very gentle introduction to the week’s roster of puzzles so it shouldn’t hold you up too long from getting on with your own Christmas preparations.
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 200
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It seems to me that we have been treated to a quite tricky weekend of puzzles from Telegraph Towers. Maybe it is just me being worn out by double duty. For this 200th Sunday Toughie proXimal has started with a Spoonerism and plenty of compound/subtractive anagrams.
16a and 14d clues, and I have hinted at half. As ever, some quite tricky constructions remain beware of lurkers, anagrams and “cycling” of letters. I will try and provide a nudge or two if you get stuck. I ask you (21d) to be aware I may be taking Mama Bee out for coffee and cakes (NOT at Greggs)
Here we go, Folks…
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Today marks a welcome return to the EV stage for a setter whose previous puzzle in the series was Different Relation, back in November 2023.
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg from where I am happy to report that I have booked my flights for attendance at BB17, a.k.a. my semisesquicentennial plus one year and six days, and some family visiting – I am not sure which is more important – but no more date changes SJB.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly, with his own thesaurus in evidence, with six anagrams (four partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, which I am reasonably certain are below, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31091 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by Cryptic-Sloop)
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I am standing in for Crypticsue today. I hope she recovers soon as I found this quite tricky for a SPP. I am hopeless at setter spotting, but with a couple of nice linked clues, I suspect this may be the work of Donnybrook.
A generous 16a and 16d clues and I have hinted half.
I’m providing hints for what I consider to be some of the harder clues. If you’re really stuck on one of the clues I haven’t hinted I may provide a bit more help. However, I have to take Mama Bee out shopping/coffee drinking so beware of the naughty step as no cake is available.
Continue reading “DT 31091 (Hints)”
Toughie No 3588 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
We have a typical Osmosis puzzle with cunningly-disguised definitions, clever wordplay, nothing really obscure and a welcome lack of anagrams. I enjoyed the challenge – thanks to Osmosis.
Continue reading “Toughie 3588”