Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

21a: it is hidden.
16a: one letter for diamond and four letters for collar.
8a: first three letters is our nearest star!

Hi FemmeNoire,

8a - 3 letter "star" + 5 letter "confined with passion" - definition is "red"

16a - Single letter "diamond" + 3 letter "together with" + 4 letter "collar" - definition is "falling grub there top" (but it's very cryptically humorous)

21a - Is hidden I've the clue.

Apologies for the typos ....

5a - "consumed with passion"

21a - hidden in the clue

Thank you Brendan and Mathi!

Thanks FemmeNoire, and sorry once again for the litany of typos, I'm doing this on my phone and it has the worst predictive text known to man - it's truly is appalling 🤬

Thanks for the tips, Brendan. All done and dusted. Here in Tinsel Town, it's a couple hours from climbing up the wooden stairs to Bedfordshire. See ya mañana.

Last time Brummie set the prize was back in 2019. Felt rather straightforward compared to recent weeks, in fact yesterday’s puzzle by Brendan was a good deal trickier I thought. It’s been a good week of Guardian puzzles, here’s hoping Everyman rounds it off nicely. Cheers all

Most enjoyable this week. Also struggled with the first word of 14d but thanks to Mathi for clarifying that one.

I’m probably missing the blindingly obvious but I can’t yet parse 17d (show contempt for party that’s split (7)). I have an answer which means contempt but I can’t see how.

richard, defn. of 17 is "split". Parses as "show contempt for" (3) + "party" (4).

Ah, fantastic, thanks Geeker. I thought something was off.