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I am now assuming the letters of 29d & 39a are the same,e.g. (for 29) PROPER Q,since the quotation forms a rhetorical one.Where 10d fits in remains a mystery to me.Can no-one assist? It's such a short way still to go,and I've been working on this since early this morning!

Barry:could Joan's unintentionally relevant word be QUERY,and does it form the "shell" of 39?"Quotery" is not given in my Ch.,but I see no reason why it shouldn't exist...

Have been out all morning, am now back to this crossword.
I still haven't worked out what I'm doing with 10,29 and 39 - am now also wondering why there are numbers at 1 Across and Down,9 Down and 43 Across. Do they serve any purpose?

Glad you're back,joan:that's exactly the state of play with me,too, and nobody seems to be communicating any longer!Can I assume 13a is EYE UP? I ask because it has crossed my mind in the last few hours that39 & 10 together COULD produce "QUOTE ROBBIE/RABBIE"otherwise!What do you think of Q as last letter of 29d (for question of course,since a q-mark is missing in the quotation?Would be grateful for any shared thoughts, as I'm slowly reaching the point of absolute exhaustion & frustration!

GK - glad it's not only me who's having problems!
I wondered if the last letter of 29 D was actually '?'- as it's the end of the quotation.
I've got 'eye up'and think it's right
(eye+e(scort)+p/softly).
I can't see how we could get 'quote robbie/rabbie' to fit.

Not if that Y is correct,no.But the 2 answers 39 & 10 might well be read together,right? Personally I can't imagine that square bottom right being filled out with a q-mark:as the Q is there in 39 & I'm assuming the 2 words are anagrams of one another,in my opinion we have the same 4 out of 7 letters for each,but then I don't see how 10 fits in at all.Must have a nap first,I think!Have you read all the other postings,incl. that about your supposedly inadvertent hint right at the beginning? Stumps me!

My 'inadvertent hint' is a mystery to me too - I'd prefer to have had an 'advertent hint' if such a thing exists!
Am off to stare at the letters again.

Columba indicates that the last two unclued lights make one word. "Eroteme" is a rhetorical question, and would fit 29d, but that doesn't allow for a question mark instead of the last letter.

Thanks AJT1 - 'eroteme' does look good, but would spoil the quotation.. I think I'm finding this so tricky because I don't understand what I'm doing! There are 4 letters in 10 D, 7 (possibly 6) in 29 D and 7 in 39 A. I can't see how to put two answers together to end up with the third, if the letter counts don't add up. I'll sigh and persevere.

could it be the variant EROTEMA,the A standing for Answer,which would have to be given in 10?Which would have to have the sense of NO -- possibly in Scottish -- with
?Y?E ???