Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

1dn I can see how tropical bird = ani but how does mal = "he chiefly sat"?
Also not convinced how 13dn leads to sodded.
Thanks.

I don't know this particular puzzle, but "mal" could be
"he chiefly" as its 3/4 of "male"!

G(oddes)S uncovered = oddes, anagramed + D = deus = God

Thanks both of you. I've finally moved onto the third instruction. Really enjoying this one!

I was really impressed by this puzzle after I had followed the first instruction and saw how well that worked. But I can't figure out how to follow the second instruction, even with considering the six-word message. (It's the first of those six words that most confuses me.)

Jaye. Start with the first letter of 10ac then the second letter of...........

Thank you!

unclued,

What did you make of that 1 empty cell (penultimate cell of 11D) ?

Demeter - I think the final stage should reveal whether it contains E, K or P. I'm struggling to find the anagram of the 8 letters but I assume that that cell must be one of the 8. I have been looking down the leading diagonal but haven't discovered the word yet. Can anyone else give the two of us a hint?
Thanks.

Unclued - what worked for me was applying the word before "eight" to the instructions "considering the affected parts of the grid before and after alteration". That got me seven letters plus the elusive one.