Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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You have reached the world’s biggest and best crossword blog. If you are looking for help with the Daily and Sunday Telegraph cryptic crosswords or the Enigmatic Variations advanced cryptic, a total of 13 puzzles a week, then you have come to the right place.
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Toughie No 3772 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Sparks for a very enjoyable puzzle containing some cunning bits of misdirection.… Continue reading
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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Continue reading "DT 31366"
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This puzzle was published on 3rd October 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A truly marvellous 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 31361 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment **/***
Very relaxed for a Thursday Toughie, with a one-in-four anagram count adding further grease to the wheel. Is it just me or is the leap to a Friday Elgar growing wider by the week? ‘Twas alway a step-up – and rightly so – but the gap now seems interplanetary! The floor, as ever, is yours.
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BD Rating – Difficulty 2.5*Â – Enjoyment 4.5*
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, on Tuesday, I carried out my civic duty of (advanced) voting in this month’s municipal elections. Interestingly, at the municipal council level in Manitoba there are no political parties. While the political ‘leanings’ of candidates may be known, every council is an essentially non-partisan ‘committee’ with the mayor, as chair of the committee, being elected ‘municipality wide.’
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), not a Dream Team Thursday, Silvanus was on Toughie duty yesterday and it is Kcit’s turn today. But, there is no doubt that this is the very entertaining work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, no sign of Ray T’s swEetheart, but there is a plain sweetheart in the back pager. Nothing to excite the latent third formers among us. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Unusually for both a Wednesday and a Silvanus crossword, I found this to be a proper Toughie – my favourite Across clue was 28a and my favourite Down clue was 8d, as both of them mde me smile
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BD Rating – Difficulty *  Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. For me, today’s puzzle was fairly gentle for a Wednesday – about the same level of difficulty as yesterday’s and Monday’s crosswords. One of the answers was a word I hadn’t come across before, but was fairly clued.
Amongst my favourite clues were 9a, 29a and 23d, but tying for first place are 22a (a lovely word) and 28a, which brought the biggest laugh of the day. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 244 by Light
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 27/09/26
Light has provided a very enjoyable Toughie this week.
Continue reading “Sunday Toughie 244 (full review)”
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This puzzle was published on 27th September 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us an enjoyable solve this Sunday and now I present to you a full review of his puzzle. Hope to have your valuable feedback and comments. Continue reading “ST 3388 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3769 by Beam
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Whybird is abroad on work-related matters this week so I’m standing in for him.
Continue reading “Toughie 3769”