Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
A brief update from Jane’s friend Jacquie – April 2nd – Jane is still in hospital and is on her second round of treatment but is not yet ready to see visitors. More as I receive further updates from Jacquie.
Jane’s friend Jacquie has added two new updates to the ST 3357 blog, not very good news. … Continue reading
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This puzzle was published on 28th March 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A slightly tough Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and subsequently writing a review for your kind perusal and valuable feedback. Continue reading “DT 31199 (Full Review)”
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
Beam’s back with his usual flurry of synonyms, the Queen, a sweetheart, and – of course – no anagrams. Scant sauce though, so maybe he listened to Jane – of whom I know we are all thinking, especially having seen today’s latest update. Everything crossed.
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31203
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****
Thanks to today’s setter (I’ll leave you to guess his or her identity) for an entertaining puzzle.
Continue reading “DT 31203”
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. I approached today’s crossword with some trepidation, as the first puzzle that I blogged – Vintage puzzle 20 – was originally published on 1st April 1978, and had a surprise twist that caught me unawares. Thankfully there were no such pitfalls today, and everything was fairly clued throughout. The standout clues for me were 20a, 18a, 28a, 14d, 24d, and my favourite, the painful riding experience in 16a. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 217 by Zandio
Review by
Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 22nd March 2026
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This puzzle was published on 22nd March 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us a nice, 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 3361 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3661 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome to another Toughie week.
We have another high-quality puzzle from Hudson today. There is a martial theme, or at least a connection between several of the clues, although I am not sure if there is an underlying reason for the link: I am happy enough to have noticed a theme of any kind! I thought I was heading for solving in Floughie time, but then a combination of solving 15d and parsing 20d and 24a took this comfortably into ** territory. I hope you have your lexicographic secateurs to hand, there’s a fair bit of pruning to be done.
Once the penny dropped for 20d, this jumped right to the top of my prize list by a distance, which is perhaps rather unfair on 13a and 29a, as either of these could have been “Top Clue” in other puzzles. Thank you, Hudson, for a wonderful start to the week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***/****
Today’s puzzle, which I assume is the usual Anthony Plumb production, took me a bit longer to complete than usual so I’ve given it an extra * for difficulty. I suspect that it was probably just me being foggy brained first thing so it’ll be interesting to see what others make of it. As ever nicely clued & an enjoyable solve.
As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.
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.
