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ilippu

14th March 2026, 01:45
Thanks Tramp.

Quite difficult with several 'a ha' moments.

Entering more common answer in 16a held up parsing and blocked progress. 5d finally fixed it.

Not convinced by 21a numeration.

Long list: 14a, 16a, 19a, 22a, 23a, 6d, 15d, 22d

COD: 16a
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rogerm

14th March 2026, 01:51
Well I don’t know about you (ilippu apart), but I found this one tough, with some obscurities in the often complex wordplay and not a little misdirection. I THINK I enjoyed it. Certainly a workout.
FOI, as far as I recall, 13. LOI 11, and even now I’m not convinced that I’ve parsed it satisfactorily.
COD? I’ll go for 14.
I agree with you, ilippu, about 21. At the very least I think it somewhat unfair.
Otherwise, thanks Tramp.
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darla

14th March 2026, 01:57
Very similar experience to you two gentlemen. I made the same mistake as Roger with 16, and also needed 5d to straighten it out. Tough all around.
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darla

14th March 2026, 01:58
Sorry, same mistake as illippu that is.
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geeker

14th March 2026, 02:03
Thanks to Tramp for a real workout.
I found this rather a beast and am proud to have filled the grid. Many difficult parsings.

FOI 13.
The combination of 14d and 16 held me back forever, but 16 (tortured parsing) was LOI by a good margin.

I actually rate 21a as COD for sheer trickiness and forehead slap after PDM. 16 also quite good, but was so painful to solve that I can't rate it on top. Quite a few other candidates, incl. several short word solutions.

Still not sure of parsing of 11 and 14a.
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rogerm

14th March 2026, 02:04
darla - I think you mean the same mistake as ilippu, though I confess that I would have probably fallen into the same trap if I hadn’t already got 5d.
I’d be interested in your view on 11. I think it parses as 6,1, but I’m not convinced by my 6. Seems obscure, but on the other hand that’s Tramp for you!
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ilippu

14th March 2026, 02:07
14a 3 letter school going back contains 1, 2, followed by 3
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rogerm

14th March 2026, 02:09
Morning (/evening) geeker.
14 is at least as convoluted as 16, I think. It parses as 3 outside 1,2 followed by 3, where the first 3 is a reversal. If you see what I mean.
Equally unsure on 11.
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geeker

14th March 2026, 02:11
Thanks, ilippu. I didn't know the "school" (3) part of 14.
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rogerm

14th March 2026, 02:11
Sorry, ilippu: it took me so long to get explain 14 that you got there first, and much more succinctly!
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