Cedric Statherby’s on travel leave so I’m filling in for him today. In fact his travels take him to Fremantle tomorrow where we’ll meet up for a cleansing ale.
This one took longer than usual to solve, with a few sophisticated cluing techniques in play. Some cryptic wordplay, a cryptic definition and a bunch of semi-&Lits. (See the glossary under “useful links” on this page if this term is unfamiliar to you).
A good chance for many of us to extend our solving skills, but there may have been a few casualties along the way and possibly some frustrated solvers. Keep in mind that you don’t always have to complete a puzzle to enjoy it, otherwise none of us would have ever got started in this game.
So let us know how you went, and indeed how much you enjoyed it!
(In the clues, definitions are underlined and anagram indicators are in bold italics. In the explanations (ABC)* indicates an anagram of abc. Deletions and other devices are indicated accordingly, I hope).
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | The rest of Ms Rogers biscuit? (6,4) |
| GINGER SNAP – GINGER’S NAP [the “rest” of GINGER (Ms Rogers)]
Very clever cryptic wordplay. |
|
| 8 | Unusual form of drama to one making a killing (7) |
| MATADOR – (DRAMA TO)* | |
| 9 | Escort papa away from drug dealer (5) |
| USHER – P (papa) “away from” |
|
| 10 | Basis of course on radio (4) |
| ROOT – Homophone (on radio) of ROUTE (course)
Not a homophone for everyone of course, but it doesn’t have to be. |
|
| 11 | Single male part in opera possibly withdrawn by composer (8) |
| BACHELOR – ELOR [ROLE (part in opera possibly) reversed (withdrawn)] by BACH (composer) | |
| 13 | Small stringed instrument imperfectly tuned (5) |
| SHARP – S (small) + HARP (stringed instrument) | |
| 14 | 46th president with time for new bathroom furniture (5) |
| BIDET – BIDEN (46th president) with T (time) for N (new) | |
| 16 | Very old Edam vile, on the turn (8) |
| MEDIEVAL – (EDAM VILE)* | |
| 17 | Fine meadow insect (4) |
| FLEA – F (fine) + LEA (meadow) | |
| 20 | Puzzle concerning coach (5) |
| REBUS – RE (concerning) + BUS (coach) | |
| 21 | Carry short giant in powerful embrace (4,3) |
| BEAR HUG – BEAR (carry) + HUG [HUG |
|
| 22 | Bite it nervously if learning to fly? (10) |
| FINGERNAIL – (IF LEARNING)*
Semi-&Lit |
|
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | PS5 addict perhaps starts to go absolutely mad, experiencing rage (5) |
| GAMER – First letters of (starts to) Go Absolutely Mad Experiencing Rage | |
| 2 | We all have to pay for this daft Etonian lad (Baronet) (8,4) |
| NATIONAL DEBT – (ETONIAN LAD)* + BT (Baronet)
On edit: Thanks branch for spotting the original dodgy parsing. |
|
| 3 | Whirlpool jet daddy sampled periodically (4) |
| EDDY – Alternate letters (sampled periodically) of jEt DaDdY | |
| 4 | Film franchise that’s a hoot (6) |
| SCREAM – Double definition
Scream 7 will be released in 2026, for all you devotees out there. |
|
| 5 | American beer addiction must be curtailed here! (3,5) |
| ABU DHABI – A (American) + BUD (beer) + HABI [HABIT (addiction), curtailed]
The first six words give the wordplay and the final word gives the definition, but the entire sentence can also be taken as the definition, referencing the restrictions (not a total ban) on consuming alcohol in the UAE. Not quite an &Lit unless you consider “here” to be part of the wordplay, so we’ll call it another semi-&Lit. |
|
| 6 | Where in 1985 Collins unusually used a helipad? (12) |
| PHILADELPHIA – PHIL (Collins) + (A HELIPAD)*
And another semi-&Lit. The whole thing refers to Collins arriving in Philadelphia by helicopter as part of the Live Aid gig in 1985. |
|
| 7 | Doctor upset Conservative, a problem for the House (3,3) |
| DRY ROT – DR (doctor) + YROT [TORY (Conservative) reversed (upset)]
You may know it better as Serpula lacrymans. Probably not though. |
|
| 12 | Slippery slope leading to this drink? (5-3) |
| APRES-SKI – Cryptic definition
Quite liked this one when the penny dropped. Apres-ski of course can refer to any post-skiing activity, but is most often associated with social drinking. Post-piste if you will. |
|
| 13 | Melancholy brother, a few clothes (6) |
| SOMBRE – SOME (a few) “clothes” BR (brother) | |
| 15 | Chatterbox in hot air balloon (6) |
| GASBAG – GAS (hot air) + BAG (balloon) | |
| 18 | Guardian article on bluestocking? (5) |
| ANGEL – AN (article) + GEL (bluestocking?)
Bluestocking – an old-fashioned term for an educated, intellectual woman with strong literary or academic interests. Gel – an old-fashioned rendering of “girl”. I think it often implies upper-class but surely that doesn’t equate to academic? I presume there’s some British social nuance at play here that more specifically links the two, but my extensive research (fifteen seconds of googling) has failed to detect it. Explanations welcome. |
|
| 19 | Young salmon, the one that survived! (4) |
| PARR – Double definition
Catherine Parr was the sixth wife of Henry the VIII, the only one left standing when he died, and you’d imagine she went on to live a long and happy life. In fact she died the following year from complications of childbirth. What a time to be alive. |
|
More than one QCs-worth of tricky clues IMO. I DNK PARR (either definition) so didn’t finish, and struggled with plenty of other clues too. I prefer clues that don’t rely on general knowledge, so this puzzle was definitely not my cup of tea.
Very grateful to Galspray for blogging this one for me, not least because I seem to have dodged a really chewy one. First beer’s on me tomorrow!
As for the puzzle, a DNF, and several I did get were DNP (did not parse). I had no idea what was going on in GINGER SNAP, completely missed the reference to Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife, and was not familiar with BR as an abbreviation for brother in SOMBRE. NHO PS5 or SCREAM (both stretch the G in GK IMO), and had no idea what was going on with Collins in PHILADELPHIA. Bluestocking = GEL at the end completed the proof that I was a very long way from Bjorn’s wavelength on this clever but I would suggest not “Quick” puzzle.
That beer will taste good Galspray after this!
Gel = Bluestocking doesn’t equate, IMHO. Often used to enjoy a glass of Western Australia brewed Little Creatures on my annual business trip to Oz. Cheers!🍻
It would be remiss of me not to include Little Creatures on the walking tour tomorrow Zen.
I have happy memories from nearly twenty years ago of a long lunch at the Little Creatures brewery followed by a boat trip to Rottnest island. Given the time difference you might be there already. The weather forecast looks lovely. I hope you’re both having a splendid day.
Thanks chabuduo. Very pleasant afternoon, and Cedric is off to Rotto tomorrow.
Little Creatures is fantastic, but I preferred Running With Thieves 🙂
A very fair call Canzim. But we settled on Gage Roads (after Little Creatures) based on proximity to the station and the prospect of dolphins, which were kind enough to oblige.
Another good one 🙂
G, I think the Baronet is a BT, not just a B. Else, you’d be a letter short.
Cheers branch. Fixed now.
13 minutes, my slowest solve for a couple of weeks although it’s within my revised target time of 15 so I’m happy enough. I agree with others that it was a little more demanding than most of late.
I liked the Ginger Rogers clue where I tried to make GINGER NUTS work before seeing what was going on. I missed the Catherine Parr reference and assumed ‘one that survived’ was to do with a parr being a salmon that has attained the age of 2 without being caught or having met its demise by some other means.
I enjoyed this one, to the point of spending 21 minutes on it. FOI GINGER SNAP, a very nice clue (although the biscuits are better if they are ginger nuts). I was held up most by FINGERNAIL and APRES-SKI, until getting the first gave me the second.
I didn’t notice the gel/bluestocking problem but I agree there is one.
Thanks to Bjorn for the Saturday challenge and thank you galspray for the blog
I thought this was an absolute belter of a puzzle with, I can’t remember one I’ve enjoyed more, but definitely on the tricky side. The only slightly iffy clue (IMO) was PARR which is could be a real stretch if you don’t have the required GK.
Started with GAMER and finished with SCREAM in 10.06. CsOD to GAMER (I am one so can empathise with the surface), GINGER SNAP and PHILADELPHIA (I couldn’t pick one).
Thanks to Galspray and Bjorn
11:23 PDM Parr a la divorced beheaded… etc rhyme and that West End show. MER Angel but what else could that guardian be…? BIFcrypticD fingernail without noticing anagram and thought après ski was trying a bit too hard.
Ta GAB
Ps Collins has
gel2 /ɡɛl /
▸ noun British informal an upper-class or well-bred girl or young woman:
fastidiously reared Home Counties gels.
– ORIGIN mid 19th century: representing a pronunciation of girl.
So eyebrows back in situ
A DNF for me but I thought this was a very good puzzle, if not exactly a QC, with some terrific clues. As Galspay rightly says being stretched now and then is all part of the learning process.
Top class clues for me were GINGER SNAP, ABU DHABI, APRES SKI and BIDET.
On 6d PHILADELPHIA I was fixated on Michael Collins and trying to make a link with a moon landing so was never going to solve this one.
Missed the anagram for FINGERNAILS and did not have enough crossers to guess it.
GEL for Bluestockings was beyond me and failed to guess ANGEL.
Thanks to Bjorn and Galspray – you earned that beer.
Wow. This was very puzzling and I struggled. 1A did not drop in until late on which never bodes well and I too was fixated on moon and space for far too long. Abu Dhabi had me struggling and in need of a beer, but not a Bud and LOI could only be ANGLE or ANGEL, clearly Guardian angel but Gel and bluestocking were not parsed.
Altogether a very well constructed puzzle with lots of subtle cluing in the mix. COD NATIONAL DEBT with GINGER SNAP in contention.
Persevered to finish in 32mins as it’s Saturday and all chores happily ignored. &lits and semi-&lits are usually my undoing.
Thanks Galspray and Bjorn.
17:22 for the solve. Wow – that was a puzzle. Some top class clueing and a successful finish pulling it out of a “that was too hard for a QC” grump.
The SE corner was my main holdup where I had no idea what a bluestocking is (bird, insect) and even afterwards though it must be some sort of hairgel! For a while thought it might be some kind of ArGyL patterning.
GASBAG just wouldn’t click through for a while; FINGERNAIL being a semi-&lit was hard to spot and PARR dredged up once I had the checkers but couldn’t initially see the significance of the “one who survived” until after an alphatrawl suggested there really weren’t many options.
Was flummoxed by A-U until I got the checkers for the second half of ABU-DHABI where the H was only forthcoming after more flummoxation from the BACHELOR clue where “opera” muddied the water.
PHILADEPHIA is my COD – great piece of construction although I’m doubtful many of today’s youth would understand it. Watched a couple of the 40th anniversary documentaries last year; had forgotten that Noel Edmonds was Phil’s helicopter pilot from Wembley to Heathrow where he got the Concorde. Brilliant.
Thanks to Galspray for the blog, happy holiday to Cedric and thanks to Bjorn
If only I could put my failure to understand PHILADELPHIA down to youth!
I’m not even sure it’s youth – I am decidedly middle-aged and I was 6 when that happened!
Haha to me that’s youth.
14 mins…
I really enjoyed this. I agree, there were some tricky clues, so perhaps I was just on the right wavelength, but 1ac “Ginger Snap”, 6dn “Philapdelphia”, 5dn “Abu Dhabi”, 15dn “Gasbag” and many more all brought a smile to my face.
FOI – 1dn “Gamer”
LOI – 19dn “Parr”
COD – 1ac “Ginger Snap”
Thanks as usual!
5:27. Great stuff. I was pleased to get through this unscathed in just over an average time as it was tricky in parts. ABU DHABI and DRY ROT were my favourites. LOI PARR but I think I’d seen “one that survived” as a definition before, which helped. Thanks Bjorn and Galspray and enjoy your beers with Cedric.
21.55…. had to look up what a young salmon was, so that possibly tosses us out.
Enjoyed various clues on the way through, though too many others were either not or only partially parsed (e.g. ABU DHABI,APRES SKI, SCREAM, ANGEL, PARR), which constrains the ‘at time’ pleasure. With blog-given hindsight we better appreciate and admire Bjorn’s evident skill, so hopefully this sets us up to better enjoy his/her/their next offering.
COD PARR (after blog)
Thank you for excellent blog Galspray – and Bjorn.
21:30 – average time for me, but I really struggled with this, needing much biffing and alphabet trawling to limp home. Too many unparsed items to list. Only got 18d by linking GUARDIAN with ANGEL. NHO SCREAM film nor Phil Collins in Philadelphia- how recherche is that? A bit too odd for a QC really.
Interesting puzzle! Plodded through then stuck in SE. Needed hint for PARR and GASBAG (good clue). LOI FINGERNAIL. Liked GINGER SNAP, though was slow on the Snap. Also liked APRES-SKI, ABU DHABI, and DRY ROT, among others.
NHO SCREAM films, barely remember Collins and so CNP PHILADELPHIA, and ANGEL, and various others so thanks for vital blog, Galspray. Surprised by Gal = bluestocking. My military father was worried that if I went university I might become a bluestocking, too overeducated to get a husband. (I did acquire one, in case you are worried too.)
😂
Technical DNF
COD ANGEL
In Our time by Melvyn Bragg has an episode on The Bluestockings
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045c0h9
(Intellectual women 18th C)
I came across the term in a book about Newnham College Cambridge. See this separate Times article if you want to know more:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/f8d181f7-4bd6-4f57-866d-7273e80077bf?shareToken=ef864ba64dc180cc973375eb66222a21
By Mary Beard Aug 8 2009 Review of book on bluestockings
Hence GEL (hard G think “Gals/Gels” as said by a posh headteacher)- particularly as intellectual women needed an elite background to be educated in ye olden days.
Now, of course things have changed – speaking as a Newnham College student 40 + years ago, whose parents left school age 14 and 18 years.
Also enjoyed PARR – only fully parsed it afterwards
Thanks to Bjorn and Galspray
Somehow my log-in isn’t being carried over to my comments – so you are spared the picture of Delphinium today
A good puzzle until it wasn’t. I enjoyed many of the clever clues but biffed SCREAM (NHO Scream films) and also biffed ANGEL (daft clue; GEL is a word I have never used except in Chemistry) and DNF because I couldn’t get the NHO PARR. I was well within my SCC limit until I hit these two.
A pity that the pleasure from an otherwise very good and imaginative QC was dashed (for me) at the end.
Thanks for the helpful blog.
As others have said, this was a top-drawer puzzle, and I very much enjoyed the 12 mins I wrestled with it (4 of those minutes on the final three clues).
Thanks Bjorn, and galspray for the blog – I’m sure you’ll enjoy those beers. Have fun!
27.51 That was good. Many of the clues sent me off confidently in the wrong direction. SCREAM was very slow and the dimly remembered PARR took seven minutes to resurface at the end. Thanks galspray and Bjorn.
This took me a very long time, but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The one that held out the longest was actually LOI BACHELOR which I didn’t ever parse. I rather liked the PHILADELPHIA clue, with it being the 40th anniversary last year and all, but I was stumped for absolutely ages before the eventual PDM. Thanks to ND for the reminder about Noel Edmond’s – had totally forgotten. I started off thinking I would never finish this QC but I did, eventually. Many thanks galspray, especially for GINGER SNAP which I hadn’t fully appreciated. Tricky but worth it! Thanks Bjorn.
I stopped looking at the clock at the 30min post, but it was only on reading the blog after I eventually finished that I realised my hold-ups were the result of some quite challenging GK/parsing: Nuts/Snap having completely missed the nap, Philadelphia and Gel/Blue stocking.
I suppose it’s good to get one of these every now and again, so I’m looking forward to another Bjorn special . . .next January 😉
CoD to Ginger’s 40 winks. Invariant
I cocur with all that Cedric said except I got ginger snap but not fingernail. Enjoyable until it wasnt perhaps sums it up. Philidelphia is probably the most obscure QC answer ever, Assuming you have heard of Live Aid you need GK 1 – It was in Philidelphia I didn’t know that. GK 2 it was in 1985, I didn’t know that. GK 3 Phil Collins attended, I didn’t know that, GK 4 he arrived by helicopter, I didn’t know that. Any one of the four missing and you are stuffed. Still first two-thirds was fun, thanks Bjorn and galspray.
I don’t think I had GK1, GK2, GK3 or GK4 but they weren’t necessary in this case. There were several ways into the clue, especially with checkers in place.
mmmm. Not sure I agree with that, if you take out the GK bits you have one word – Where. Phil is not the only famous Collins, think Joan, Michael, and, given the context, the dictionary. Without the “Phil” bit the helipad, the date and the live aid link are not relevent. I started my comment by saying I didnt have fingernail, so a crosser missing. That means you have “where” to mean any geographical place, town, city, county, state, country, continent, mountain, fountain or planet (or even planetary feature); any generic, club, pub, stadium, castle, abbatoir, town hall, tower, estate, galaxy, cellar, cheese factory; any event- cup final, coronation, christening; anywhere fictional – arcadia, down the rabbit hole, midsomer; or even metaphorical – cloud nine, bottom of the class, with the family etc. I must have missed what the others were of the “several” ways into it.
I was just about to post this when I thought I would google “collins use of helicopter” – Joan comes up well above Phil !
I have to say I’m not sure what you’re disagreeing with. I stated that I didn’t have the GK, for which I’m afraid you’re going to have to take my word.
And I solved the clue, which makes my subsequent statement self-evident.
I think most solvers, on seeing _H_L_D_L_H__ in the grid would eventually (if not instantly) consider PHILADELPHIA, especially with the potential anagrist on display. Although I note that your comment doesn’t mention the partial anagram, so perhaps you overlooked that.
Yes the clue was difficult to parse, but far from impossible to solve.
A frustrating DNF today. We struggled with a few clues on the RHS but persevered until hitting a complete blank with ABU DHABI which we revealed after a total of 19 1/2 minutes. Frustrating because in retrospect it’s well within our capability. Had to guess PHILADELPHIA, not seeing the Phil reference (like IanV above I’d initially thought it related to a moon landing). GINGER SNAP was our FOI though even there we hadn’t seen the nap bit. Nice one, Bjorn, and thank you, Galspray, for clearing up the bits of wordplay that we missed.
11.32
Got a bit stuck in places but did parse it all. Great blog and puzzle.
A real mix of the straightforward and the chewy. Slow to see FINGERNAIL, but no problem with the double definition of PARR. Did not like GEL = BLUESTOCKING but all forgiven after the exceptional clue for PHILADELPHIA – my COD if not COM. Thanks ND – had also forgotten about Noel Edmonds being Phil Collins’ helicopter pilot. Thanks Bjorn and Galspray.
Another brilliant puzzle. So many good clues, but I’m picking out GINGER SNAP and PARR for mentions in despatches.
Thank goodness PHILADELPHIA was an anagram because I failed all four of Ham’s general knowledge questions but still got the answer. And there was I expecting it to have something to do with Collins Dictionary. Also, my mother (Girton 1950s, starred first) was very much a Bluestocking but very much not a gel. So my eyebrow twitched at LOI ANGEL, but it was clued as a DBE so I lowered it again.
Really fantastic fun, completed all too soon in 06:56 for an Excellent Day. Thank you Bjorn and Gallers. So extraordinary to think of this blog leading to two people meeting up on the other side of the world!
If it had been an anagram I would have got it it too, it was my first thought. But there are two Ls and two Hs in Philidelphia and only one of each in “Used a Helipad”. As I had Usher and Bear Hug when I first looked at it the anagram theory went up in smoke.
Having looked at it again it could just scrape by whith “phil” plus “i” (one) for “a” plus an anagram of helipad. But that would be dreadfully weak as the 1985 would be completely superfluous, and you would have an indirect anagram “I” for “a” and the anagrind separtaed from the anagrist. And I am sure galspray would have mentioned it if that was supposed to be the parsing.
Yes, my first thought was this is so weird it must be an anagram, especially when the first few crossers agreed. I did get the answer, but obviously had no idea how it parsed.
Thank goodness, then, that (a) it was a partial anagram and (b) I didn’t notice the missing letters 😁
Same here! I was so pleased to think I’d parsed it correctly too, but it turned out to be a biff 😅 But it’s still my COD.
Just listening to a John Martyn album produced by Phil Collins – some sort of coincidence?
I wouldnt begrudge anyone a fortuitous outcome, particularly if it brings back happy memories as this one obviously did. I did actually enjoy the crossword a lot until I ground into the sand. I also dont mind being stretched, even if it results in some DNFs
The anagrist is (A HELIPAD). I think I’ve spotted the problem. You’ve consistently misspelt PHILADELPHIA in your comments, which may have complicated the clue for you.
Not sure we can blame the setter for that.
30 minute finish but Id be ling if I said I parsed everything.
GEL for “Bluestocking” feels very very loose for a QC and the SNAP in GINGER SNAP was purely because it made sense next to GINGER.
Apart from that, a throughly enjoyable puzzle for a Saturday. Credits to Bjorn and the blogger!
DNF in 17:42 as I simply got tired of looking for 4d. (NHO Scream the film franchise so I forgive myself.) Very dull today, and my besetting sin of assuming I need to know some arcane UK thing, or simply not knowing when something is “American” in British eyes, tripped me up a few times. Notably in failing to write in GINGER SNAP, when GINGER was plain to see. I got hung up on “ginger nut” and imagined “snap” was an Americanism. It also had me so intimidated that my last one in was the clever but eminently gettable ABU DHABI. Lots of other entertaining clues. BEAR HUG was a write-in but I like it very much. PARR superb when the penny dropped.
After getting PHILADELPHIA from the crossers I can see Phil and the anagram but I still don’t get it. Off to read the blog. Oh, great clue if you have the GK. (I knew nothing about Phil Collins’ helicopter arrival and don’t know why I should. Off to do some research I suppose.) Saw ANGEL and guessed the old-fashioned “gel” for “girl” but like our blogger got no further than the rather weak “a bluestocking is an example of a girl”. Except that a bluestocking could also be a woman. And a girl is not an example of a bluestocking either.
Thanks to Bjorn and galspray.
I got PHILADELPHIA but couldn’t parse it despite figuring out helipad was part of the anagram. I’d forgotten that Phil Collins was the only performer to appear on both Live Aid shows in London and Philadelphia, starting at Wembley Stadium before taking a Concorde jet to New York and then a helicopter to Philadelphia for a second set at JFK Stadium.
11:51
An enjoyable solve. COD to PARR.
I had to count the letters carefully to get the spelling of PHILADELPHIA right.
Thanks to Galspray and Bjorn
Only 61 minutes! A breeze …. not!
Far too many NHOs and/or CNPs (could not parse) for me. I had to rely on pure guesswork for several clues, which negates any satisfaction gained from having reached the finish line.
Cedric summed up some of my frustrations.
Many thanks to Galspray for the blog.
21:55 for me, with much use made of aids. I needed to look up the life stages of salmon, and enjoyed the PDM when I saw “parr”. That gets my COD, just edging out Ginger’s nap.
Thanks to Bjorn and Galspray.
DNF but very enjoyable. Beaten by root and Parr. If I were to quibble, then Anne of Cleeves also survived, outliving both Henry and Parr, but can’t claim that fact held me up.
FOI Flea
LOI dnf
COD Abu Dhabi
thanks Bjorn and Galspray.
I came to this after spending over an hour on 15 x 15, coming up three short.
Should not have bothered as I was too mentally tired to do it justice. One very hard puzzle too many!
I wish I could say that I can enjoy a crossword that I don’t complete, but I wouldn’t be telling the truth. I want to ‘beat’ the setter and, if I don’t, I feel like I’ve lost the contest.
Another miserable Saturday TBH. It’s ages since I finished a hard cryptic and I’m still nowhere near where I would like to be. Very disappointing.
One of my quicker solves this week, but not fully parsed, starting with GINGER SNAP 😅 I like these sort of clues, where just changing the word break gives you a whole new meaning, but it completely bypassed me today.
I definitely didn’t get the link between bluestocking and gel – not even vaguely synonymous in my view, so it went in with a shrug. Didn’t we have poster called Bluestocking here a while ago?
More political amusement at 2d though – I wonder who Bjorn might have been referring to?
I liked APRES SKI (post-piste 😅😅) and PARR – they both just clicked, and I really liked 6d once I’d worked out which Collins we needed – a very clever clue.
9:57 FOI Gamer LOI Fingernail COD Philadelphia
Thanks Bjorn and Galspray
6:12
Much enjoyed puzzle with some amusing clues. Only really stumped with the word bluestocking, but the answer to the clue was fortunately easy. NATIONAL DEBT was also simply bunged in, didn’t double check the wordplay for that one.
Thanks G and B
11.18. Not my favourite sort of puzzle.