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Unfortunately that post missed out a word of the instruction. It should be MOVE BOTH XS. So your T is correct, and appears in BOTH, not in MOVE

Thanks - I haven't solved many off the across clues but I had the X, and now that I can see the last Y maybe I can solve a few more of the doubles. I did look at the Argand diagram youtube video..... clear as mud, and I'm sure I've never come across the word Surds before, even with an 'additional maths' O level from 50+ years ago. It sounds vaguely sinister.

I too abandoned maths after O levels more than 40 years ago and found the YouTube video enlightening.

I have filled the grid, oriented my letters correctly and identified where I want to put the Xs, but I'm puzzled by brief mention earlier in this thread about a parabola. Am I right in interpreting this as requiring me to draw a parabola connecting the two Xs through the intersection of the X/Y axes? (Or, as in the video, are straight lines acceptable?)

Thanks to anyone who can drag me over the line...

No need for a parabola, or any line, in my view. Simply mark the Xs at x = -3.5, y = 6.1 and x = -3.5, y = -6.1. So they have moved just over half a cell up and down

Thanks keepatit, that's where I'd located the Xs and it's good to be reassured that no lines are involved.

You're welcome, orientfan

I thought this was absolutely excellent. Tough but fair clues and a brilliant grid construction. In a year of very high standards (so far), this is my favourite.

I agree the 3 word entry has to go on top in 38, so would have been better if it had said (5, three words; 5).

Other that that, fantastic.

Hi all
Only started this on Tuesday but already struggling. I cannot seem to get a handle on entering answers into the grid. I have solved a few clues whose answers should be in the top left of the grid but can’t seem to fit them in! Could someone give me a hint as to how to start please? Any help will be much appreciated.

Hi Goshawk

The top row is 1a (with a gap between its 2nd and 3rd letter) 4a and 7a,

1d 2d and 3 d come down from 1a

The other gap is in the same location on bottom row.

Goshawk

There were a few other comments earlier in the week along similar lines, which surprises me a bit. Worth spending a bit of time analysing the clue lengths and figuring out what could possibly go where. After ten minutes you should be able to figure out where at least 14 acrosses and 10 downs definitely go, with most of the others down to two or three possibilities.

A bit of slightly more complicated reasoning pretty much gives you the rest of the acrosses. Let me know if you want me to go into more detail as to how you do this.