Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

It's hard to gauge the difficulty of this week's puzzle by Paul as I took an age to get going but then, once I did, everything sort of fell in to place.

FOI was 7a followed by 5d.

If you do get stuck there's at least one long anagram and a hidden, both in the acrosses.

6d - I was initially confused by what I thought was a 1 but, after much head-scratching, realised it was an I - doh!

There are a few multi-word clues and getting these really helps with the rest.

I think the clue that caused me the most difficulty, apart from the aforementioned 6d, was 13d, where I took ages to figure out the wordplay but, once I did, thought it was a great clue.

COD - I've gone for the elegant 21d.

I didn't notice any Pauline clues, apart from maybe 19d, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

Thanks to Paul for another fun crossword.

As always, please feel free to leave a comment - new posters are particularly welcome, and, if you get stuck - don't hesitate to ask for a hint.

Stay safe:-)

Hi Brendan,
I found this a little easier than Paul's norm. Wrote in the longest clue upon seeing a few crossers, which helped.
I noticed two really mild Pauline clues, but two seriously missed opportunities for same! Paul's other trademarks present: linked clues and a few convoluted parsings. Thanks to Paul.
FOI 10, LOI 12 (which took a while to figure out, one vowel was in question).
COD definitely 19 (one of the mild Paulines) over 14, 13, 22a and 7. I enjoyed quite a few clues, but found 24d uninspired. 6 has interesting and novel wordplay, but I'm not sure I like it. :-;

Hi Geeker,

I know what you mean about 24d, I actually wrote in the answer and then deleted it after having convinced myself it couldn't be that obvious - but it is

I did wonder how well known the long 11,2,1 might be outside the UK but it seems you found it easier than me:-)

Brendan,
11, 2, 1 is a phrase I enjoy and even sometimes use! 24, 16 was previously unknown to me (outside UK), but fairly clear from parsing (got the last 2 words quickly and backed out the first).

If it's any consolation, I have never once in my entire life heard of 24,16 but, luckily, Google has:-)

11,2,1 - I don't know if you know its origin - I can't say any more as it would give the game away but I recommend you type the phrase into Google followed by 'origin'.

Thanks, Brendan. Didn't know that (11, 2, 1) etymology. Definitely "very British"!

I remember 11,2,1 when it became infamous in the eighties, but I was surprised to see that it originated much earlier according to Wikipedia. I guess people have been cynical for a long time. I think I would nominate 26a as COD for its elegance and subtle misdirection (to me anyway). Not sure about the parsing of 3d, the last letter in particular.

3d: parses as 1 inside 5, think of "nurse" as a noun.

Hi Rainman,

Well spotted, I, like millions of others, always assumed it originated in the in the eighties - interesting to see it dates back to much earlier.

3d - 5 letter "nurse" as a noun around "ankle finally" - definition is "calling".

Of course! I became convinced that 'nurse' was a verb and that 'bandaged up' was not just an indicator.