Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Thanks Fed.

Enjoyed this.

FOI 27/23.
LOI 19a.
Long list: 1a, 5a, 12/9, 14a, 16a, 31a, 18d, 20 d
COD: 1a or 31a.

Was remembering you Brendan when entering 15a, :-)

Thanks, Fed. This was fun.
Considerable amount of unusual "outside the box" cluing, always enjoyable.

FOI 5.
LOI 13 (regional GK I lack - there was one other such clue but I found that easier to parse).

COD 18. Long list adds 16, 31, 7, 24, 19, 26.

Thanks to Fed for what I thought was a difficult Prize.

I did notice 15a ilippu and, I could be wrong on this, but isn't situated in in pretty much the same place in the grid?

The only clue I have a slight issue with is 8d: If the definition is "stays" then why is "in" there? Howevr, if it's "stays in" then that just seems wrong to me - I mean, try finding a sentence where you can substitute "stays in" with trhe answer. (I know I've set myself up for a fall here but, whatever 😒)

On the plus side, the misdirection in 17d, and especially in 18d, was truly inspired.

25d is, to put it mildly, something of an old chestnut, but that's no bad thing and, of course, we have to remember that not everyone has been doing crosswords for years and those people will enjoy seeing it for the first time.

COD: Really liked 24a, 4d and 7d but think I'll go for 20d for its wonderful surface.

Let us know your thoughts Did you find it as difficult as me or was I just not on Fed's wavelength?

Stay safe:-)

8d, "in" - where you will find the answer....

Brendan..
Yes, 15a was17a there.

Brendan, 18 was my COD because of the misdirection.

I sometimes get on Fed's wavelength, and this was one occasion. Solving time slightly less than Prize norm because I was able to write in many answers and parse later.

I share your misgivings about 8, but the solution was so obvious that I didn't spend much time on it. I do have a minor issue with (12,9) on the interactive website - the concluding "5" in the clue seems to be a typographical error.

I didn’t find this too difficult but not too easy either. A lot of very clever clues though. Like geeker, LOI was 13 after consulting a map of London. I always appreciate the device used in 5, so that is my COD. Agreed, 25 is perhaps overused, but with all the great clues here, I’m not going to begrudge the setter. Thanks to Fed for quite an enjoyable outing.

Thanks ilippu and I do get what your saying, but I still have a problem with the definition.

While Chambers does list it under "stays", it's qualified with "archaic" in brackets.

Actually, now I've given it more that 10 seconds thought, both words can mean "delay" and, in fact, that word does appear under both "stay" and the answer so, as predicted, I had set myself up for a fall:-)

Geeker, isn’t the “5” referring to 5a, which makes it the definition?

Hi Geeker,

In 12,9 I think 5a is the definition with "issue" being the 8.