Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Hi again 0pt0, you also have to make synonyms of all the nicknames.

Thanks Ginge. I should have explained that I already had the synonyms. That was how I identified the 42 cells.
I see that between us we have taken the number of posts to more than 300. I am not sure whether that is a record, but I certainly cannot remember a longer thread.

I've finally cracked it, but only thanks to the very generous hints given here on the forum.
I'm sincerely hoping for something simpler this week.

Thanks to the people who offered hints here which got me over the line on a few clues -- getting me enough answers to enjoy the endgame.

I noticed a comment along the lines of appealing to a younger generation. I don't want to assume the commenter's age, but perhaps it's easy to forget that the thematic material is now 25 years old (and in fact, the puzzle has been published close to its anniversary). It's not as old as some of the themes we've had in The Listener, but I daresay there are regular solvers who were born well after it was first unveiled!

While I'm here, does anybody know of a source (preferably cheap) of the Chambers CD-ROM, for reverse Spenserian and Caledonian lookups?

Cheers.

What my final grid contains, after a careful reading of the preamble, is JUST the 42 cells that formed the LTL characters, and which contain mostly the letters that were in the various solutions that ran across these 42 cells plus a few cells that got letters filled in to complete the “descriptions” and all of which are now also highlighted, and also the five-letter word which I have written in to what seems approximately the right place, plus a rough sketch of the ring in what seems approximately its right place.

I’m assuming that having the right word and ring in roughly the right sort of place will be counted as correct.

All the remainder of my grid contains the barely visible rubbed out remains of the letters that were there. Each of those letters was the result of so much blood, toil, sweat and tears that rubbing so much of it out at the end was genuinely painful. Now for a huuuge G&T :-)

Can anyone offer a gentle hint to the final synonym? I have spent two days trying to work out how a description fits the shape, given the 'middle bar'. Is one cell used twice?

I have the shape beginning with the penultimnate letter of Ed's Honoured, and ending with the third & fourth letters of the pipe holes.

This has proved to be a tough puzzle to 'crack' for me, so any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

i have it as "2" synonyms.....3 letters and 5 letters

Thanks Bunty. I'll give that a try. What a Herculean task this has been!

cass, the final synonym is actually two words, both pretty exact synonyms of her epithet. One is three letters and starts in the top bar, the other is five letters and starts in the middle bar. And then brace yourself: the next step involves rubbing out most of your hard work so far…! 🤣

Thanks, mooncow. I did have those two words, but felt that I should be looking for one word (by that time I was quite 'brain dead'). I was on to the 4th or 5th photocopy of the crossword by the time I'd finished.

Many thanks to all on this thread; having read the final few pages did reassure me that my difficulties were shared. Then I saw the Title of this week's puzzle.....