Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Thank you Granama1

Still don't understand the term 'align matched pairs of unclued letters'. All 13 in one straight (vertical?) line? Would be most grateful for a hint as to which three pieces to start with too please!

Theragman, after disecting the grid you need to arrange the pieces so that the identical unclued letters meet. In the case of those letters that are part of cells with two letters they are butted together so that you have two such letters in a square cell (ie two A's together, two T's, etc). The two pairs of letters that do not share a cell with another letter are butted together forming rectangles. The three E's are treated separately as per the preamble.

Thanks Murky. I'll give it another go...

I don’t understand the first instruction after the grid is filled.

“ Nine cells contain two letters, to be separated by a diagonal line oriented so that both across and down entries read correctly”

Is that one vertical line?

Casanova, take 15ac, for example. The central cell has two letters, and the diagonal line separating them must be drawn from the NE corner of the cell to the SW; one letter goes in the NW triangle, one in the SE triangle, then 8dn will read correctly.
On the other hand, in the last cell of 19a the diagonal line runs from NW to SE for 12dn to read correctly. The last letter of 19a precedes the penultimate letter in the word entered for 12dn.

Thank you Murky. So there are a number of diagonals drawn in the grid?

Very good this I thought, and set by one of our esteemed editors I think?

Only loose end for me is 37a. I have 7 corrections before this that spell the 7 piece thing, and 10 after that spell what we are trying to make. I originally thought the correction was an 'r' making it young fish, but can't see how that fits with the other 19?

Thanks

The letter stands alone, smellyharry - and it's another meaning of the same word (not the fish). The misprint is in the first word.

Still can't see it. I know it's in the first word as the wordplay works for the rest of the clue. The only letter I can see that could standalone would be a, but can't see a word with an a?