(Prologue) This is my maiden blog.  I could say “be gentle with me” but I won’t.  All comments are welcome – part and parcel of the learning curve for me.  Commenters during the (UK) night shift and who expect a reply may not get one until the next morning.  Rest assured, I’m not ignoring you, it’s just that that’s when I’m recharging my batteries.  There was some excitement today when we couldn’t locate the puzzle, apparently having been classified as a Cryptic - a sheep in wolf’s clothing.   However, it’s sorted out now, so after about an 11 hour delay, here goes….

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I hope there’s something for everyone in this entertaining Rufus puzzle, which took me a little longer than some of his more recent offerings. It’s still gentle enough for relatively new solvers, with fewer cryptic definitions, for those who don’t like them, and the lovely surfaces that we expect from this setter. Thank you, Rufus, for an enjoyable puzzle.

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… well, most of them. I think my vote for top clue goes jointly to 23a and 4d this week. Read the rest of this entry »

*=anag, []=dropped, <=reversed, hom=homophone, CD=cryptic def, DD=double def, sp=spoonerism
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