Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Great puzzle with a theme that was familiar, enjoyed it very much and now have time to get out in the garden. Thanks Phi, keep 'em coming!

Somehow I got it into my head that each of the paired 8 clues remained in its own half, and this held me up for ages with apparent clashes all over the place - even though I got the duo, quotation and how the real clash worked. It was only after a bottle of nice Italian wine I realised my mistake.

Not my favourite theme (to put it politely) but a clever puzzle from a setter one can bank on to play fair. I think I'll start reading preambles properly from now on...

Alas, that thematic milestone was a very long time ago for me.

This has been bothering me for some time. What does 'primary reference' mean, in the preamble?. Sometimes we are told that every answer is in Chambers. Fair enough. But 'primary reference' implies that solvers should look in Chambers, and if they can't find the answer, then Google it.
Really enjoying this one, by the way.

I've always understood "primary reference" to mean one or more answers is a proper name. Others may interpret it differently!

Enjoyed that though it took a (short) night's sleep and a relook to see the final 8. Then untangled the quotation which had me going for a while as how could 18 letters give a 10-letter solution... Must be getting old, though not quite there yet!

Agree with all that's said. I guessed the theme from the title, a really annoying earworm of a song, for once, but the clueing and grid fill were very enjoyable. Thanks Phi but I'm with simplesimon on this one.

Also agreement from me, very enjoyable solve. Thanks to Phi.