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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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I must have been on the compiler’s wavelength this morning, because I found today’s puzzle to be fairly gentle for a Wednesday. Amongst a plethora of excellent clues today, my favourites were 1a, 3d and 11d. Many thanks to our setter.
Sunday Toughie No 227 by Beam
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 31st of May 2026
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This puzzle was published on 31st May 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 3371 (Full Review)”
Toughie No 3701 by Beam
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Well, well! Another Tuesday appearance for King Concision… You wait ages to blog a Beam puzzle, then two come along (almost) at once. That’s all to the good as far as I am concerned! We have three six-word clues, and everything else is even more concise.
I started off at a rate of knots and was starting to wonder whether “Floughie” and “Beam” had ever been linked in a Blog. I should have known better, and the South-west corner, along with 2d put up a valiant fight, the end result being pretty much spot-on for a Tuesday. I have ticks all over the place, notably 2d, 15d, 16d, 18d, 21a and 27a, but I’m giving my Gold Star to 12a. Thanks to Beam for a very enjoyable tussle.
Please accept my apologies for the absence of illustrations and the like. In the short time since competing the puzzle and typing the blog, I’ve started an attack of man-flu or the like, and need to leave it here.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
After a reasonably bright start here in Harpenden it has just got very dark & another deluge looks imminent but at least the forecast suggests it will not last too long.
Having been alone in thinking last week’s puzzle didn’t have the feel of an Anthony Plumb production I’m pretty certain this one is one of his and very enjoyable it was too. Maybe a tad trickier than yesterday but there’s not much in it & impeccably clued throughout.
For any seeking a further challenge Ray T (in his no anagrams Beamer guise) is on duty over in t’other place with a very accessible Tuesday Toughie that is well worth a stab at. As ever Whybird will be delighted to hear your thoughts.
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.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from my lakeside retreat near Ottawa, where I expect to spend the day relaxing in the warm sunshine following a cool, rainy weekend.
Today’s puzzle, a gentle mental exercise, eases us into our weekly solving schedule.
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.
Sunday Toughie No 228
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I found Light at the trickier end of the spectrum last night and quite difficult to select hints.
I have hinted half of 28 clues, with a bonus pic at the end.
I hope you find the checkers to solve this puzzle, but I am going out for lunch to celebrate the eve of a significant date for Nick Rhodes
and myself, and nudges will be sparse until later this evening.
Here we go, Folks…
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I felt there was enough in the preamble here to give Claude a fighting chance, so I asked “In a themed crossword puzzle , we are told that the completed grid includes a nickname (13 letters) and the names of three protégées to whom the nickname refers (35 letters in total); the completed grid also contains three ‘study groups, one of which is hanging upside down’, associated with these protegees. What might the theme of the puzzle be?”