Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

I think here you have hit the nail on the head Brendan as to why Vlad is a great setter. Even his easier puzzles like this one still require a slightly different view from the norm. This is very clever I think.

Interestingly (is it, jono?) , both those clues employ “anastrophe”. That’s where the customary order of words is changed, usually for poetic purposes, but in crosswords most often for reasons of preserving a surface. It’s how Yoda speaks and by some frowned upon it is.

A heartfelt thanks to you guys, Rocky and Jono.

I was feeling a bit depressed after my recent post on the Listener thread, (even though I wrote it!!) and yours have cheered me up no end.

Thanks all for your parsing help. I still can’t fully parse 8 and 10. In 8, “pointless” seems to be doing double time as definition and direction to remove a letter. In 10, can the first two letters be an abbreviation for “right”? Otherwise I don’t know how to explain the second letter.

Hi Adea,

8d - 'pointless' is 2,3 minus the last letter, hence "largely" - definition is "sense"

10d - I think this is 1 letter "right" + 1 letter "house" (though I can't find any justification for this abbreviation) + 2 letter "wearing" + 1 letter "nothing"

Sorry Adea, for the second letter I meant "home" not house, but regardless, it doesn't make the wordplay any clearer - especially as letters 3 and 4 are also often used to mean "home' in cryptics.

A quick update:--

Google pointed you a site called AcronymFinder that states categorically H is indeed an abbreviation for 'home'.

That said, I'd be a lot more reassured if I heard it from one of the members on here...

Thanks Brendan. I’m ok with H but letters 3, 4 and 5 for “wearing nothing”? I suppose so. Awfully convoluted considering as you say that two of those letters mean “at home” anyway. Anyway, all done now!

Thanks Adea, much appreciated:-)

H for “at home” is given in the ODE. It specifies that it is reference to a sporting fixture.