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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Welcome, with a special welcome tinged with sadness to any solvers from The Independent who are trying out today’s Telegraph Crossword after that site terminated its own crossword on Saturday. There are several Telegraph setters who also set for The Independent, and despite the puzzles being uncredited, there is still a range of different styles and personalities shining through — we just have to play the additional meta-game of spot the setter!
Talking of which, I was delighted to meet both of our regular Monday setters, Heron and Weatherman, at the Sloggers & Betters gathering in York last month. At least one of them preferred not to be photographed (entirely reasonably), so you’ll have to take my word for it. They both thought Mondays would largely be alternating between them — however, if I remember correctly, one of them claimed last Monday’s crossword and t’other said they were doing November 9th, which is next week, meaning I’m no better informed as to who we’ve got today.
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As usual with Telegraph Towers, the first puzzle of the month is very slow to appear. I got this at about half past midnight, but sped through this fairly quickly for a Zandio. I can guarantee the Mythical won’t be coming my way, as when I clip the grid for my notes it sometimes leaves a rogue C where the cursor was. I must remember to submit the crossword before clipping the grid.
Lots of brilliant surfaces here. I am obliged to like 8d but COTT goes to 3d for a brilliant oddity
I will try and give a nudge if you are struggling; just ask.Â
Here We Go…
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[WARNING: LLM-infused prose ahead!]
Stick Insect returns with a puzzle whose title, L-TO-R, immediately invites one to think of standard horizontal grid entries reading from left to right.… Continue reading
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we now have ‘vertical time zones.’ Our Southern neighbours ‘fell back’ at zero dark thirty but Manitoba Westwards to British Columbia, and NW Ontario did not (the rest of Ontario and Eastwards to Newfoundland did). So, as well as getting used to distances in kilometres, speeds in km/hr, and gasoline in litres, anyone coming North over the 49th parallel into Manitoba will have to adjust their time pieces by one hour (until they ‘spring forward’ next year). It will be interesting to see if laptops, mobile phones, etc are au fait with the changes and conformed to the new requirements.
For me, and I stress for me,© – Dada friendlier than he was last week with six anagrams (three partials), one lurker (not hinted, so don’t forget the ‘if all else fails look for . . .’), and two homophones, all in a slightly asymmetric 27 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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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
A proper Friday Toughie but not quite as fiendish as some Elgar puzzles can be. When I left the kitchen table after solving the crossword to go and prepare the blog post, I said to Mr CS that there were only two clues I didn’t understand (which is quite good going for an Elgar) but as I typed the hints, things became clearer and I just hope my interpretations are correct. Continue reading “Toughie 3784”
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Continue reading "DT 31384"
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This puzzle was published on 24th October 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. An entertaining Saturday puzzle from Chris Lancaster that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback. Continue reading “DT 31379 (Full Review)”