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I've completed it without understanding all the clues! Despite earlier hints I can't construe all the elements in the wordplay of 12th down (Spot...) but the one I cannot begin to see is 15th across (Resistance...). I can only see one answer for it but both wordplay and definition are completely obscure to me. Any hints please?

Tjc, in the “spot” clue, parts is a verb, and in means the same as in the construction of the second across clue.

The “resistance” clue has straightforward wordplay, using an abbreviation, but to get to the definition you need to go via another word, cross-referenced in Chambers

A little word of reassurance/encouragement for those still trying to figure out the grid fill or wondering why none of their answers seem to fit each other, or who are not so strong on cold solving (like me!):

I used my own tool to figure out the probable pattern of down clues. I then figured out answers for 7, 8 and ? down and 2 and ? across, and ran straight into the grid filling issue pointed out by gitto in #13. However, a bit of really careful grid staring with just those answers for me, eventually, to the PDM. And that meant suddenly it’s not cold solving any more but an “ordinary” crossword!

So, it CAN be figured out without having to cold solve a lot of the clues (although the more clues you solve first the easier it will become to spot what’s going on). But *don’t* just solve loads of across and down clues and rely on figuring out the intersections: that will not be productive!

I hope that helps without giving unwanted nudges or clues!

Note by Admin - I have inserted two question marks for two numbers as I had an email which said -

“This post explicitly mentions ? and ? when that information isn’t public knowledge until the grid has been resolved”.

As I haven’t a clue what this means, I have erred on the side of caution.

Finally completed. I'm probably not as fullsome in my praise as others. I don't mind cold solving a significant number but I was up to 30 (some easy, some v obscure - yesterday's Azed was vernacular in comparison!) before the grid started to yield.

The hidden message is a bit of a McGuffin too, as I imagine almost everyone that completes this will have worked it out some time before the end game. A few unparsed but after the effort of solving and filling my enthusiasm is limited. 😄

Thanks Norah -- I don't understand what that email means either, because I'm just talking about the clues which are printed. In case of any confusion, when I said "7, 8 and ? down" I meant the seventh printed down clue, the eighth printed down clue, and one further printed down clue whose place in the list doesn't seem to me to reveal anything much, and similarly for the across clues. It's all fine though -- my point was only to say that a small number of across and down clues *can* be sufficient, with a bit of careful thinking and ingenuity and reading every possible hint out of the rubric, to figure out what needs to be figured out. I was trying hard not to inadvertently reveal too much, so I'm also happy to err on the side of caution!

Incidentally, to granama's point (which is of course basically correct) I did note that the rubric says that the extra letters "confirm" how to complete the grid, which hints that you'll already need to have worked that out before you find the extra letters, and that was actually one of the hints that helped me to the PDM.

Mooncow, thanks for your reply which may be very helpful to the Listener officianardos but, as someone who can’t even do the simple Daily Mail crossword, it’s all a foreign language to me😰.

Hence, I rely on my correspondents to alert me to posts which are possibly too explicit and I always err on the side of caution with the Listener. I have to say that it is a totally unique puzzle which causes me more grief than all the other puzzles put together. But it’s all good fun.

Thanks Quisling but I'm still totally in the dark about wordplay and definition of Resistance... Is the answer a mammal?

Sorry, tjc, a poor explanation by me. Usual letter for first word, three-letter abbreviation of fourth word containing three letter synonym of second word. Answer is a mammal. You need to look up the seventh meaning in Chambers to understand the definition

Thank you quisling the penny finally drops!

Apologies if this has already been asked earlier but, having just finished, my brain is fried and I can't face going through every post ...

In my completed grid, the last letter of the first word provided by the extra letters appears twice in the same clue - have I gone wrong or can I just pick either?

There are 8 clues I still can't parse but I'll leave those for another day:-)