Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

I think you want a 5 letter word for the wives which needs the hems taking off, leading to 3 out of the 4 letters for the dress, with one unclued.

Very enjoyable and a clever construction. Can anyone please enlighten me as to the parsing of 36a and 38a? The definitions are obvious, but I can’t spot the rest.

I think 36 is (t)INSE(l) though there may be better explanations.

38 is the one with an empty cell. Homophone 4-letter word for certain hot drinks.

I'm sure many have got regrets as (in the UK) we emerge from pandemic lockdown. Among mine is that I failed until very recently to realise that at least some of The Listener puzzles are actually doable! I have hugely enjoyed this puzzle as well as last week's.

Thanks, Loge - don’t know how I missed the ‘picked up!’

Pleased to say that I am not as far behind as usual, having completed the grid. i know that this appears at the start, but can some kind soul again enlighten me on what is meant by "read in normal grid order?" . Does this mean row by row left to right then top to bottom? I don't at present have 24 letters but am hoping that if I get the right order I can fill the gaps

Thanks

That's right, William. I found it useful to enter the missing letters in a different colour as it makes them easier to locate and read. Bear in mind that some of the letters are at the intersection of across and down answers, so there won't be 24 letters in the theme words.

Read the grid as if it were a book.

Crucial point - 24 clues but fewer than 24 letters in A + B.

Reading in clue order (all the acrosses then all the downs) does give a promising beginning - but that’s just a coincidence.

(As mentioned earlier…) A + B = 15 letters.

I've come to a standstill in the top right corner can't get anywhere with 7ac & 16 ac (electrofluids?) plus 8 & 9 down, got lotsc of letters but no ideas. Funny as I found the rest quite straightforward

Sorry, not 7 ac, 6ac