Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Sunday Toughie No 248
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After a long day at the York Sloggers and Betters, I met old and new friends and would like to thank John Henderson and Jane Teather for organising this highlight of the cruciverbalists’ year. I was relieved to find a gentle Beam puzzle when I got home.
All the Beam™ trademarks are there, no clue over 6 words, queens, sweethearts and initialisms. I hope you will have 15a this quite easily, but hints for half of 14a and 14d clues follow
If you get stuck, I may be able to give a nudge, just ask
Thanks to Beam for pandering to my musical tastes with 10a – obviously it leaps to the top of my COTT
Here we go, Folks…
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Today’s setter has (I believe) only produced one EV puzzle before, The Bigger Picture by Enigmatist, published back in 2017.
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on Friday, we enjoyed a very pleasant 24 degrees while, yesterday, the mercury dropped to 10 degrees with a meagre 6 degrees forecast for today!
So, for those in the UK, were you all awake at 2:00am BST this morning for the annual ritual of turning your clocks back to 1:00am GMT?
For me, and I stress for me,© – well, I knew Dada’s friendliness couldn’t last and, sure enough, it hasn’t! A bit of a stinker even with eight anagrams (four partials), one reversed lurker (not hinted, so don’t forget the ‘if all else fails look for . . .’), and one homophone, all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
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!
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Toughie No 3780 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Jezza’s pleas on Wednesday’s Toughie blog have been answered and we have an Osmosis production with his usual cunning misdirections and no anagrams. I enjoyed it a lot but thought it marginally less tricky than his previous Toughies – I’d be interested in your thoughts.
Many thanks to Osmosis.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Continue reading “Toughie 3780”
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I made a swift start on today’s enjoyable grid fill thanks to getting a few of the long answers right away from the enumeration and the definition. Continue reading "DT 31378"
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This puzzle was published on 17th October 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, lovely Saturday puzzle from Twmbarlwm that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31373 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Another entertaining romp from Dharma that thrives on typically smart wordplay and fair definitions. Such generosity proved especially welcome as I’m currently dosed to the eyeballs – laid up with mild concussion and a knee the size of a beachball. Joining the wife for a spin to mansplain the gearing on her new Brompton, I idiotically cycled full pelt into a bollard as I barked faintly patronising instructions over my shoulder and somersaulted into traffic. That’ll learn me … possibly! Still, there is one vague upside – I’ve had to borrow the telescopic walking stick I gave my mother-in-law last Christmas and this daft reversal of fortune has cheered her up enormously. The floor, as ever, is yours.