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Hello, Elle!
I have no idea what &lit means, Elle.
I may have mentioned this before.
And you do not need to know it to solve the clue.
You are a pretty experienced solver, now.
It seems a straightforward enough clue to me.
The anti-beer lad has succumbed to drink, and has been corrupted, and is now an inebriate.
I think it is plain enough?
And remember the "?" at the sentence end.
Yes, a good puzzle.
I enjoyed the tussle with the setter!
Do you have to put oil in your ears prior to syringing?
Often the oil disperses the wax and you will not need syringing.
Miss La Bamba was telling me a sperm whale came ashore earlier tonight just down the coast at Monifieth.
Unfortunately it was not alive when the rescuers got to it.
Poor whale!

Pigale- well done indeed for winning clueless!

Hi, Rusty!
There are some days when I feel I am getting on top of the solving......and other days when I feel as "thick as two short planks" if I have the right expression?
I suppose it all depends on whether one is on the same wavelength as the setter?
Yes, it is necessary to put oil in one's ears first.......but I had been doing that, on doctor's orders, in case the wax would disperse without intervention.
It didn't.......so today the practice nurse syringed my ears.
One ear proved a tad resistant...so I have to go again next week!
( I shall be able to overhear everyone's whispered secrets by the time I am done!)
That is such a shame about the whale!
Poor creature.
I think the sperm whale is said to have the largest brain of any creature living on Earth?
Right...it is late...bedtime!
Talk tomorrow!

Thanks Rosalind! Why didn't you have a go?

I know judging next week can be daunting, but more so for me
is trying to choose the best possible word to be clued!
Otherwise, particularly if the most obscure clues are parsed,
then I don't mind judging - it is quite subjective really.

Good morning, Elle!
Ah, you have had one ear done, that's fine!
Makes a big difference!
In my humble opinion it is experience you need to solve the cryptics.
And, for most of us, there are quite a few "Oh, I did not know that!" moments, when you learn something new from a puzzle.
Mr Rogan uses around twelve setters for the puzzles so it is a different set of brains that you challenge each day.
And we do not know which setter it is!
I think you are doing very well.
One thing in your favour, Elle, is, if you don't know, you ask.
They think the whale may have got lost.
Sperm whales are not usually found on the East coast of Scotland, usually on the West.
A shame, anyway!
They are going to do a post mortem, I think.
I am off out soon.
Asda (flowers), cemetery, Boots (prescription, I hope!) Greggs, and Lidl's!



Good morning, Pigale!
Congratulations on winning Clueless!

I no longer do Clueless, pigale, because I feel I can no longer write decent clues. Smetimes I do PR because I like to feel part of the community

Good morning, Rusty!
And it is indeed a "good" one here.......the sun is shining, the sky is blue and it is already 7C!
A most enjoyable walk........with a relatively clean dog at the end of it!
You have a busy morning ahead of you!
I too need to make trip to the crematorium some time soon.......
We have no immediate birthdays or anniversaries coming up......but the marble slab will need cleaning after the hard winter, and we are thinking that the engraving needs to be renewed.
Right now, I am grabbing a coffee and eating my apple........then we have to go to the vets to see how the dog's anal glands are doing.
I hope she is okay, and that the inflammation has subsided.
Catch you later.......

Hello, Elle!
That's my tasks completed.
Only me and a stonemason at the cemetery!
The whale is 40 feet long, that's impressive.
Public not being allowed near it.
Hope you got on OK at the vet?
Is computer still playing up?
Puzzle completed.
Another first class one!
And it is a fine day here!

Hi, Rusty!
We did well at the vets.
The swelling in the dog's anal glands has gone down, and both glands are virtually back to normal.
She does not need any more treatment and we were not charged for this morning's check up.
The next routine visit is in two months, unless a problem arises in the meantime.
So good news!
I restored the computer to an earlier date, but it has made no difference.
Possibly because it could not go back far enough?
Anyway, I am "in business" off and on!
If I "disappear"........you will know why!
The osprey nest was empty when I looked.
No sign yet of Laddie?
I have only just made a start on the crossword.......

Good afternoon, Elle!
That sounds very encouraging at the vet.
Well, I am at a loss regarding your computer.
Is it getting on in years?
Maybe needing replaced?
No sign of Laddie. Any day now, though.
Yes the nest was empty last time I looked.
Lassie maybe fishing.
Good luck with your puzzle!