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There are some very unusual answers in there today...8d, 29a, 26d, 19d 28d, 37a !!!! and that's before we get on to the unclued ones.....LOL!

Yes, I found it quite tough but got there in the end.

But for the life of me I can't parse 28 - what did you make of it?

KT17, I couldn't get 28 to work if I used Chambers, but it was perfectly fine using Merriam Webster. The first four letters in the answer = fling, the last three = heavy stick. The whole thing equals 'leaded glove'.

It is in Chambers but it's an alternative spelling - although the alt sp doesn't give the definition either, that refers to the Latin term (a bit laborious but it gets there in the end).

Thanks Malone - yep not in Chambers and not in my M-W (maybe it's an abridged version.) But there is a Wiktionary reference to the word that gives that definition from an (unspecified) 'dictionary of 1707'.

M

Thanks, drxx - yes, I saw the stuff in Chambers, but fully expected to get the definition there!

I think I was surprised as copies of Chambers have been the Spectator's prize for many years now.

malone - I think Chambers likes to avoid repetition, so only gives a definition for the main entry and refers any variations back to that entry. Still, it's a long-winded process getting to the definition for the Latin 'C...' via both the 'H...' and 'W...' spellings, especially when these are in English.

Thanks, drxx, that was interesting. I initially didn't check, as the answer was fairly obvious - and then I didn't check far enough!

I don’t know, Doctor. The two implements are so very different, the glove has a decent enough word of its own, and the H/W word so accurately describes the MO of the sharp thingie, and so does not relate to the glove...

I suspect the 1707 dictionary was in error and that this error has been passed down by dictionary compilers since then. Perhaps therefore Chambers is right!

kt17 - There's an entry in Webster's (1913) for the 'W...' version, suggesting the usage is poetic when applied tro the Latin 'C...' (much like 'fist' = 'hammer', I suppose).