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ronpegram

16th May 2026, 21:50
Sorry folks - started new thread by mistake.

Surprised some people found this easy. I have been struggling for a long time with the top left corner, and still don't have 2d or 13a. I think 2d may be something that I am using right now, although I can't parse it, but that would leave me stumped on 13a.
I thought that 23d was a clever clue. Answer obvious, but parsing difficult until the penny dropped.
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pault

16th May 2026, 21:56
Why, though ? At the risk of drifting spoilerwards, 'ere we go is a near-homophone for fifteenth insect.
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pamd

16th May 2026, 22:26
Finished, having only needed the forum's help in seeing 24 as "4,1", at which point my husband solved it.
FOI: 16A
LOI: 24A (and penultimate was 22d)

But could someone explain the parsing of 6d? I get the first two and last two letters but can't see how the middle 4 come from "outside"?
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ronpegram

16th May 2026, 22:29
6d middle - think of an orange or a lemon
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brendan

16th May 2026, 22:31
Hi Pam, think of the outside or peel of a fruit.
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buzzybee

16th May 2026, 22:46
Been doing a bit more research on the Nina in Rows 3 and 11. The whole of Row 3 is a sort of patchy grass that grows in swampy areas, and by extension the swamp itself. The repeated three letter word in Row 11 can mean several things, including "year" (as Jono has said), "sweetheart" or "to land or settle" - it is the last of these here. Taken together, I think the two mean a safe place within a hostile environment.
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rocky7

16th May 2026, 22:54
Brendan. Good luck tomorrow. I'd hate the defining moment of both our seasons to be last weekend.
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pamd

16th May 2026, 23:19
I didn't recognise the setter's name "Pangakupu" and didn't know what the old hands were talking about re his Ninas, so for the benefit of any other newbies, what I've learned from Googling is:

"Pangakupu" is the Maori word for "crossword", and his Ninas are Maori words!
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pamd

16th May 2026, 23:24
And thanks, Brendan, for the help with 6. I was reading the 4 leters with a short vowel, and couldn't think what it was! (Some vague connection with a homophonic papyrus...? Didn't make sense.) So obvious, once you know.
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jono

16th May 2026, 23:52
Hi PamD, re the Maori Nina’s, yes that’s correct. The extra element is that Pangakupu’s Nina’s always have some connection to the puzzle number (not the Guardian number, but his own number in the Guardian). I think this is no. 48 (I may be out by +/-1) but have no idea how that might relate to today’s Nina.
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