Putting the words to lights – crossword clues explained in plain English
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Toughie No 3633 by Shabbo
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
Warm wishes from a damp, grey Wirral!
We have a wonderful puzzle from Shabbo today – Floughie it ain’t, but equally there is no obscure GK or archaic vocabulary required. With the possible exception of 26a, the toughness arises mainly from the very cleverly constructed clues, all with very smooth surfaces. Many of them are set up so they look like they should be solved one way, which turns out to be a dead end, but then turns out to be “clearly” something entirely different. And all done with a remarkable economy of words, too.
I struggled to get going, eventually getting a foothold with 23a, and then worked from SE to NW as the respective pennies went clunk. 1a gets my top spot today, as well as being my last one in, but there are too many other very good clues to list – smiles all over the age today.
Thank you, Shabbo, for an excellent challenge.
Please let us know how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
I have a short break from the Blog for the next couple of weeks whilst I have a tour around India trying to see, but avoid being eaten and/or trampled by, various large felines, canines, reptiles and herbivores. You will have the pleasure of Gazza on a Tuesday for the rest of the month, so thanks to him for stepping into the breach.
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***
Well it’s not raining yet here in Harpenden but it’s on the way & none too warm out there either.
Next week I’ll leave you in ALP’s expert hands as I’m off to 17d in Shabbo’s excellent Toughie to see if I can remember how to play golf & hopefully catch a bit of sunshine in the process. I’m sure his music choices will be more eclectic than mine.
No reverse anagrams to trip me up in today’s pretty gentle puzzle, which I’m sure is an Anthony Plumb production. As ever nicely clued throughout without for me quite hitting the heights of last week.
As usual there are an assortment of clips 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.
Hello. My cast is off, so I have both hands available for typing again. My left wrist is still weak though: things I’ve recently discovered I’m still unable to do include stabbing a piece of (raw) carrot with a fork, and clap. I was at a black-tie industry dinner on Friday, which mainly seemed to exist so that the people who organized it could all thank each other in turn; I ended up miming a lot of applauding.
Anyway, on to today’s Telegraph cryptic crossword, which I found perfect for those who prefer more straightforward crosswords on a Monday. There was no obscure vocabulary, so if the 13-year-old doesn’t have any homework today, I’m considering printing this out for them to do instead.
Sunday Toughie No 211
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Light’s thirteenth appearance in the Sunday Toughie slot but not unlucky for me. 5d took the most time to parse, but I think I have it now. It seemed like there were rather a lot of first, last, and alternate letter uses today. I did particularly enjoy the bilberry eating bird and the Hurricane, but those were just two of a long list of candidates.
I have tried to be a bit oblique with pics and vids, so I hope I haven’t given too much away. I will try and give a nudge or two if you ask.
14a and 14d clues today I hope you have as much fun as I did.
Here we go, Folks…
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Submitting the preamble to Gemini proved useless: it was convinced that the theme was Shakespearean (a naive assumption due to the title).… Continue reading
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where on Wednesday, after what seems to be the customary one hour delay for my flight from Heathrow to Calgary, my flight from Calgary to Winnipeg arrived 20 minutes early! However, definitely better than my ‘outbound’ journey two weeks earlier. The joys of air travel!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly with only, yes only, four anagrams (one partial), one lurker, and one homophone in a symmetric grid of 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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!
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 *****