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StrangelyBrown, glad we could help. I think we all know different things, facts, to start with, but solving crosswords teaches us things too. Some of those words were reached at by solving the clue, then confirmed by checking. That's one of the things I enjoy most about crosswords - learning new words, new things.

5d "After a key game, pint emptied lustily and rapidly" (8)

A?Y?P?L?

Any help much appreciated

Gooner, the Y is incorrect.

i think your Y is probably wrong

Thanks both, I should've put R instead of Y so can now see the answer.

Hi Malone, I take your point about how crosswords can teach you new things, but it stops becoming enjoyable when those new things amount to pointless information you'll never use again and were only included because the setter could not think of a better clue - I cite the names of Swiss cantons as an example.

Thanks, StrangelyBrown. I agree that some of the gained information isn't always particularly useful or interesting, but enough of it is to keep me slogging away at the puzzles! I have a dislike of the Spenser words that crop up - and crop up far too often. I'd swap those for a Swiss canton any day.

Hi Malone,
I'm probably being thick, or maybe just haven't been doing crosswords for long enough, but what are Spenser words?

I wondered about that too, SB. It’s not a term I’ve come across before, so I Googled it. Apparently it’s a reference to the poet Edmund Spenser.

Morning, SB. The Spenser words are just very old words, words not used today, from Edmund Spenser, a famous poet. He died in 1599. The clues often say things such as 'Ed's mantle...' Setters like using him as the words are so likely to be unknown! I think Chambers is the only dictionary that includes lots of his words - so the setters know they're findable. I'll need to look out for examples for you.