Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

If I am right with my parsing of 10 17 it is a total 1st for me to see (9) ie number of letters indicator ,as being part of the clue .

Thanks Chris, I couldn’t see the full parsing of 10,17 beyond the easier-to-spot wordplay - that’s genius using (9) and I for one have never seen it before.

This was tough but satisfying, although sadly I needed full assistance to get 22,5 - a new name for me.

9d lovel, but COD the witty and Pauline 27ac.

Relieved to hear it's not just me! So far managed 27a and 25d. I have to work now but will be checking back in over the weekend for some clues to get me a least a bit further on...
So far, 27 COD, but there's not much to choose from 😏

Tough but fair(ish), I thought. It feels as if Paul took setting this one very seriously.

FOI 16, 14, fairly swiftly followed by 15d, then ground to a halt. NW and SE corners went in first

I had a bit of a head start on 22,5 in that although I had to turn to google, I knew what I was googling for. It’s a contender for COD, but I’m going for 12a. Also liked 20d, 27a.

Morning!
Brendan, you are allowed to say you found a puzzle straightforward if you did! We all have weeks we find it easier and others we just can't get on the right wavelength. But glad you also found this one tough, it definitely is a challenge. Looking forward to trying to finish it over the course of the weekend though.
First one in was 29a, so I'm not sure what that says about me!

A classic ‘Prize’ Paul experience for me. Spent a couple of minutes desperately scanning the clues and thinking I wasn’t going to find a way in. Then the SE corner yielded a foothold (as it so often does - why is this?). Then everything went in, not so quickly as to leave me feeling short-changes, but steadily and satisfyingly. If we’re talking wavelengths, I definitely find myself on Paul’s more often than not, and this was a case in point.
Got 22,5 as soon as I had the 4th letter of 22: has cropped up just often enough in the past for me to have it stored in the memory.
LOI 9dn. I’ve heard it before, but unlike 22,5 not often enough for it to stick, and the pattern of crossers didn’t help. But the second word was obvious, and eventually led to the first.
Very enjoyable.

odd one for me. first pass - zero, then saw foi 22, 5 (sorry, very familiar to me!) and suddenly it all went quite quickly, though, despite hints, i'm still not seeing the definition in 10,17.
favourite 27.

chrise - the definition is the last 4 words of the clue. The enumeration pins down the ‘square’ in question, whether deliberately or by happy accident I’m not sure.

Re 10 17 see my earlier post Chris

My friend and I do this crossword every week too, it's our way of keeping in touch and has been going on since 2012! :)

There are three words spelled out in the 4th, 8th and 14th rows that suggest there may be a theme/nina going on here. Unusual as Paul doesn't normally go for them but they're of a kind.

This was a really tough workout, quite a few were parsed retrospectively! We both loved 27a, very Paul and very cute.