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Anyone working this beast from The Crossword Centre?

I have all 5 grids filled, and I see an instruction in grid 5 (4,4,7) in rows 1 and 4 (or columns 1 and 4, for that matter).

I also can see that a few of the 8 extra words (from the grid 1-4 clue sets) have synonyms that appear in grid 5 (e.g. in rows 3 and 7).

However, I also see a lot of gibberish. Are we supposed to alter grid 5 so that answers to all 8 extra words (treating those words as definition-only clues) appear in the final grid 5? Hints, tips, thoughts appreciated.

Yes, all 8 extra words complete the final grid.

I completed the puzzle before the start of the month (they often appear a day or two early) and noticed a typo in clue B for grid C. In fact there were a few errors to begin with (again, often the case with the CC puzzles early on). Because of the extra word gimmick I thought it worth pointing out and sent off an email - although my email received no response, the puzzle was amended a couple of days later.
I mention this in case you've started on the early version and got 'reminder' as an extra word - this should be remAinder, of course (a double def clue).
To further complicate matters another extra word was subsequently moved from the grid C section into another group - but the 8 extra words remain the same.

...should have said - synonyms for the 8 extra words, not the words themselves.

The eight synonyms are all 8 letters long and fill the final grid across/down.

Thanks. So is all of grid 5 overwritten (ie do we end up with a word square a la the original grid 5), or do you wind up with some across and some down, and need to add bars to get real grid entries?

Seems like a lot of work to get to a grid 5 that you wind up not using in the final step. Not sure the final payoff was worth the effort, for that matter!

Yes, grid E is completely overwritten - and once you identify the synonym that contains the first letters of the other seven, it's game over.

And all of that awful counting comes to precious little (my guess that symmetry would probably save half of that ordeal was the only reason I took it on in the first place).

Thanks.

Have started on this but brain's a bit fuzzy....stinking cold. Have reached Grid D but stuck on an impasse there.

A few gentle prod in the right direction would help....so<

- does the four letter answer to 2A constitute the first four letters of the 8-letter word to be entered;
- is the 8-letter 3A a plural of a bird species; and
- do A,B,C and D all start with the first letters of the four-letter answers?

Thanks....