Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Meursault - you are not wrong so far

I solved E L T D all at the same time. Write L as a function of T and E. And also D as a function of E, L and T using clues 21d and 11a.

Then move onto O and A.

After that P H (and C) I K.

Not sure, Bananabean how the phonetic alphabet can be the theme - I'm still fairly convinced that the unlucky number is key.

I’m at the same point as Meursault, having slaved away for two hours only to suffer a reversal. I presume I know what A is, but which clue(s) do I use to determine O, given that I only know D, E, L, T and A?

piano - you are right and I have finished it - phew

You get O from 13a. You know what E is and you know H and C must be different - and 13a is a 3-digit answer. So this gives you O

Thanks Bananabean and Piano. Yes ELT and D first, then there are 2 choices for A, but 27A eliminates A=1. I guessed O was next target, though I've reached the threshold (probably because I'm so slow) where the puzzle needs to be swapped out for a few hours while normal life resumes...

4d (with reference to 22a) is the key to O Candlestick. This gives a possible range of 4 - 8 (with 6 already taken). You know the second digit of 4d as you have solved 11a, so slot in possible values for I and K to 4d to get possible values for M. Test these against 22a, then solve 1a with those values to get P and H.

Crosswhit - any hints for Grid B?

Got the first grid finished; I can see, I think, which 32 digits have to be transferred across, and I presume Grid B is going to depict something, but I cannot work out what it can be. I think there is very little to go on here, is there any way of cracking the code without having a good idea beforehand of what the digits are going to encode to?

Bananabean - can I have a hint towards the cipher?