Thank you bernie, mamya and trevor. ETCETERAS it is then! I've been doing the Herald crossword for years, usually without too much trouble (I've got 3 Wee Stinker T-shirts and 2 Sunday Herald dictionaries) but this one reached new depths of obscurity - for instance "Deselected politician takes two weeks to reach new heights" (7) - I'll post the solution shortly. Andy