Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

d'oh - penny has come clanging down!

Have a full grid plus name and statement but, before I move on the endgame, can I get some clarification on ...

1a - 1 Puffin’s in competition to trail good rope with soft centre (5)

I have the answer and have accounted for "good" and "Puffin" but then it seems that the rest should be parsed by "competition" minus the extra letter but the 2nd letter looks wrong?

Cancel that, I see it now:-)

I had been hoping for a stinker this week as the household has Covid and I have no reasonable way of getting the paper, despite living opposite a newsagents! I don't suppose once on ten years or so will hurt :)

I know I could take out a subscription, but I think £26 a month for 4 Listeners is a bit expensive, personally - experience shows that I don't read the electronic versions and I don't bother with the other crosswords.

The PDM with the across clues came relatively quickly for me, but in a sense it made things slightly more difficult spotting the gist of the clue. The best thing for me is that my habitual nemesis of the grid stare only took 5 minutes - and there is no lingering doubt about any ambiguities of what is intended.

For me the £26 subscription is a bargain, but I appreciate that if only The Listener is required then it may be deemed too expensive. Having said that, there is a huge Listener archive included and I often dip in. I certainly shall be doing so this weekend.

I'm feeling a bit thick. Completed the grid very quickly , but my grid staring has been endless. Can't find the 2 words or the 2 letters.
Could someone give me a nudge as to what I am looking for please.

A lovely puzzle, but what a pity that the down clues were not also thematic. I thought the thematic element to the across clues added hugely to the fun.

TonyNannini, without trying to give too much away, concentrate on the extra words after the name of the pioneer. I HATE grid staring, but in this instance I was more fortuitous than usual.

Toniannini. Difficult to hint without giving the game away. Hope the following helps without saying much more than is already in the preamble.
If you have the theme you should have some idea what the two letters might be. Look for them in appropriate positions. The thematic object will then appear.