Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Grid filled by coffee-time but I fear the theme may relate to some aspect of contemporary culture that has passed me by. Anyone take pity on an unworldly as-of-next-week octogenarian?

Similar experience here - except I have the 4 words - but cannot make the final step - or at least work out which "Piece" they refer to.
Durban just look at the 4 first letter words and find synonyms - all short and all linked. If you get couple you'll get the rest.

From the positions delivered by the down clues. isn't it clear that the words 'hinted' at by the across clues have four letters?

Correction: at least four letters.

No

There is nothing very contemporary about this, so don't worry. To work out the reference, as I am wholly ignorant of such things, I converted the words into a more standard notation and then tried google, and voila ...

Thanks, Aspria. Your reply encouraged me to have another look and the penny has now dropped - with a clang!

If there's more than one way to interpret a preamble, I choose a wrong one. It's a gift, I suppose.

Listener preambles are becoming increasingly ambiguous. Here the preamble is ambiguous regarding the lengths of the 'related words'. It could mean that they are the same length as each other, or the same length as each of the hints.
I think I have worked out which of those interpretations is correct, and I think I have the four related words, which suggest to me a particular song. However, by applying the positions from the down clues I don't get anything helpful as an introduction to an individual, so I'm beginning to think I'm falling for a red herring. I cannot see any name in the grid that relates to my initial idea.
Without giving anything away, can anyone confirm whether I'm on the right path in thinking of a song.

Not a song. If you have the correct 4 words that are of the same length as each other then they can be used more generally than for a particular song. I am guessing it is the same song that thanks to this puzzle has been iny head since yesterday lunchtime!