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Thought I'd finished after half an hour, only to be deprived of the score, so I knew I'd made a mistake somewhere but, for the life of me, I couldn't see where.

Then I went back to the only answer I want totally sure of, namely 4d and that was it. But even then it took a long time to get the right answer especially as I thought that word was not considered okay to use these days.

All good fun though so thanks to Azed.

Apologies for putting the date rather than number in the title, but in the new look Observer the number doesn't seem to be included!

Note by Admin - Brendan supplied the number so I changed the heading

It’s 2,764 and is noted under the puzzle and in the pdf.

Yep, thanks Jono, I just went back and found the number.

I've already contacted Norah and asked her to change the title

Brendan

Same word, same reason. Also had a second error. Took an age to find. Why is the error always in one of the last down clues?

Yes Brendan, it's not as if he didn't have alternatives with the unchecked letter. I think he enjoys the occasional lapse into non-PC!

I've been mulling over whether I should say this all day, but the fact that I can't settle makes me feel compelled to say that I regret my "all good fun" remark.

My bone of contention is 4d - it sits very poorly with me. I can honestly say I haven't heard that word since I was a child and think we are all the better for it. So to see it crop up in a much admired crossword and in a national newspaper, no less, is extremely disappointing

Don't get me wrong, I think we live in a time where people are way too sensitive, with many positively wallowing in their supposed victimhood while others on YouTube and TikTok are tripping over themselves in a race to make a career out of virtue signalling.

That said, this word is exremely offensive, to me at least, and has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Agree on every point.

We need to know why that word was chosen when there were so many others available.