Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

My first time attempting a genius and only started this afternoon. (Normally would not attempt anything harder than a Masquerade special.) Using own brain and help from posters here I have solved most of round 1 and have six of the seven instructions.

Totally stymied, however, by “it’s known I’m off…”. I have O?T?YE.

Wondering whether some of those letters are wrong

No way. I just got the answer. Weird how typing out the question makes penny drop

The entry form for this crossword requests "all answers for Round 2 in conventional crossword order in this field", but I'm not sure what is conventional in this sense. I'm thinking that it could mean 1A 1D 2D 3D 4A 5A (the order of the entries in the grid) or maybe 1A 4A 5A 1D 2D 3D (to match the order of the Round 1 entries in the entry form). Can anyone here please advise? TIA.

I interpreted “conventional order” as Across entries followed by Down entries, each in number order. So just as you have it in your second example.

Initially thought this would be impossible, but actually round 1 went in ok. Flummoxed by instruction, until I read on here the suggestion that it is in two parts. Then saw what was going on. Round 2 went in once I’d twigged re the central down clue. BUT still none the wiser re the downward note. It seems you don’t need it to complete the puzzle, but I’d love to know what it is!

Hi Mdmaylwin,

Once you've completed the second part of the instruction, beginning with d, you should be left with the 4 letters of NOTE.

Don't make the same mistake as me - you need need to clear those rows before entering the Round 2 answers, otherwise you'd be deleting the 2nd and 4th letters of the down answers.

Ah, many thanks Brendan. So it’s just the extraneous letters in the uncleared rows. It seems I disregarded them so completely I didn’t even notice them…