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Have been doing crosswords all my life, and now at my advanced age have noticed a subtle(?) change. It always used to be the rule that you read the clue and then were able to deduce the answer. Now, and this is currently flummoxing me, you get the answer and spend hours trying to fathom out how to parse the clue. On this crossword I am still in the dark on some answers (which have to be correct) were arrived at. When I have finally given up the struggle, I will ask for help from the more knowledgeable members of the forum. Does anyone feel the same?

Me too. Like you, I'll get to the point of asking for the parse, to put my mind at rest, plus maybe learn something.

Yes, I agree with that, too!
I quite often see the answer, and parse the clue afterwards!
But I find that I cannot consider the crossword "solved" until I have produced both answer AND parsing!

I agree with you both. I don't like loose ends.

Thanks all. Thought it might just be me. Setters now want to engage in a mental battle with us.