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ethereal

30th November 2019, 14:33
Aha! So that man inherently defends the king. Thanks.
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eviltony

30th November 2019, 17:19
Hi Brendan.
Could you explain fir a newcomer to the site what your reference to Nina and uncles is about, please?
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eviltony

30th November 2019, 17:21
Unches, not uncles.
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chrise

30th November 2019, 17:24
Hi EvilTony and welcome
"unches" are "unchecked letters" - i.e. not crossing with another clue.
A Nina is a hidden message in unches, often around the side.
This site is very useful. It has FAQs (including derivation of "Nina"), and also provides solutions and explanations for several crosswords each day:
http://www.fifteensquared.net/
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brendan

30th November 2019, 17:30
Hi Evil Tony, firstly thanks for pointing out my typo, of course I meant 'unches' but, as I've said before on here, I still type with none finger and the eyesight isn't what it once was.

Regards "Nina", it refers to a crossword setter or caricaturist who used to always hide his daughter's name 'Nina' in his drawings.

This explains it better:-

Why is it called a Nina?

Many think "Nina" is an acronym. It isn't.

The word comes from Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), American caricaturist, who was famous for hiding his daughter's name "Nina" into his drawings. Wikipedia says:

The name would appear in a sleeve, in a hairdo, or somewhere in the background. Sometimes "Nina" would show up more than once and Hirschfeld would helpfully add a number next to his signature, to let people know how many times her name would appear.

Hirschfeld's artwork is here, I've strained my eyes trying to spot Ninas in the online images. Can you see any? He started the trend in 1945, the year his daughter was born, so look for artwork created post-1945.

Crossword setters then brought Ninas into the realm of crosswords. If you happen to know which publication/setter started the trend, do write a comment about it.

Update (24-Mar-2011): Thanks to Peter Biddlecombe for sharing with me what is possibly the oldest Nina, from the Times crossword of July 1967. Nowadays Ninas occur quite often in the Independent crossword, and occasionally in the Guardian and FT. I haven't yet come across one in the Times, or in any of the Indian crosswords.
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brendan

30th November 2019, 17:35
I meant 'one finger' (see what i mean!?)

Chris has already explained what 'unches' are and I think this will help as well.

https://www.crosswordunclued.com/2009/10/what-is-nina.html
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roof

30th November 2019, 18:43
Thank goodness for a slightly easier crossword, which I think I have finished, but I have several unparsed, including 6d, 8d, 11ac and 13ac.

I'm not even sure I have the right answer for the latter. I have D?E?I?I?N for 13ac.
Perhaps someone can explain 13 ac and some of the others maybe.

Thank you as well Brendan for the explanation of unches and a Nina

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chrise

30th November 2019, 18:50
Difficult to explain 13 without giving it away. However it breaks down like this
???(??)? ? ??

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brendan

30th November 2019, 18:55
Hi Roof,

8d Def. Able to use the bathroom

In Paris , you + a French a 3 letter word for 'you' followed by a 4 lettter word meaning 'another name for Latvian' + a 6 letter word for when there was a 'shower' past tense, of course.

11a Def. Changing

2 letter word people use when they're not sure about something or hesitating, reversed + 5 letter word meaning 'diners'.

13a Def. Advocate of regime change (think food)

4 letter word for a 'parliament' such as in Japan + 2 letter word for '(sex) appeal' + An (from the clue)
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brendan

30th November 2019, 19:00
Apologies. First part of 8d should have read:-

In Paris, you = a French.......

6d Sort of double def.

Can mean 'Likely losers' and a sort of cryptic definition of 'having borderline personalities', hence the ? at the end.
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