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Hi all,
I'm new to this forum although I've been doing the Everyman xword for a few months now.

2 questions:

1. What does the acronym FOI mean that is used by many members?

2. I cannot for the life of me fathom the workings for 13a. I have the answer (I'm pretty sure) but no idea how it's derived from the clue. Is it permissible for other members to give hints on here?

Cheers
Steve

Hi Steve, and welcome to the forum.

1. It stands for 'first one in', ie the first solution entered.

2. The main purpose of the forum is to provide hints and to explain the workings of clues. If you provide the clue then you will get an explanation.

Hi Steve Welcome
If you have your answer as a synonym for honey (sweetheart/attractive woman) it parses as a word for 'bold' around the first letter of 'Langoustine'

Thank you team.
That makes much more sense than the answer that I had written in!

As a general rule I would recommend providing the clue number/direction, the clue itself, the number of letters in the solution (known in smart circles as the 'enumeration') and the crossing letters in the grid (aka 'checkers') that you have, eg

1a As an instance (3,7) F?R ?X?M?L?

If you only want a hint it is best to say so as some responders will by default give you the solution.

OK - good to know, thanks