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Struggling with this one. Clues are tough, and can't figure out how the grid works. Are the blank entries wholly empty, and are they symmetrically placed?

Yes and yes !

e-mail me if you need any clue-specific hints:

cruciverbalist@btinternet.com

Cleverjo - I solved about half of the clues and was putting nothing in the grid and about to give up in frustration! Then I thought about the most likely places to find the unclued words, if you get my drift. Also the large number of 3 letter words meant that it was unlikely that the four letter spaces would be unclued. Once I had identified those four spaces I could fit in virtually all of my answers.

Thanks cruciverbalist.
Thanks unclued. I have found where the blank entries are. Trying to piece my meagre offerings into the right places now.

Puzzled by the fact that there only two 8 letter clues and only two 7 letter clues, but four 8 letter grid entries and six 7 letter grid entries, so there should be six blank entries not four?

IGM - there are a lot more apparent discrepancies than that, but there is no error in the preamble. Look back to the first post in the thread, and its response.

completely baffled by the code, the letters I have make no sense any tips on how to proceed will be much appreciated

Leon - it's well worth sticking with this one as it is a very impressive puzzle.

I started with the 8 letter answers. As there are spaces for four 8-letter entries in the grid and there are only two 8-letter clues, then you know that two of the 8 letter entries in the grid aren't clued. It helps if you have the answers, of course!

That was my way in.

Drop me an email on ttxjd17@nottingham.ac.uk if you want any clue specific guidance.

drvirgil, I do have a full grid (finally completed this morning) bar the four unclued. its the 26 letters I have czo................wad, and cipher bit that I just don't get, maybe I'm not reading the instructions correctly

Leon - the superfluous letters you get from the clues spell the names of four individuals who are responsible for the 'disappearance' of the four unclued entries.

'CZO-' seems as if it is rubbish, but it's not! It's the start of a surname...

The fourth name should end ...WALD not WAD. (the 'L' comes from the Rods of Head Master clue). Make sure you start your numbering from the top left hand corner of the grid as per a normal crossword.

I hope I haven't given too much away...keep thinking about people who might be responsible for the 'disappearance' of other people and you'll get there....