The unclued lights were: 12 CORNI, anagram of Corin (As You Like It); 23 MANDIRA, Miranda (The Tempest); 27 LARDOON, Orlando (As You Like It); 38 GRADE, Edgar (King Lear); 1D SIROC, Osric (Hamlet); 8 HAMPERING, Erpingham (Henry V); 21D EUTROPHIC, Petruchio (The Taming of the Shrew); 34 ANGER, Regan (King Lear). Title: anagram of
The puzzle’s number 2468 was printed above the grid, hence ‘The theme is confirmed by the information provided.’ Letters deficient in the wordplay of eighteen clues spell out TWO, FOUR, SIX and EIGHT in rows and columns 2, 4, 6 and 8 respectively. The title, a pun on ‘No Entry’, alluded to animals entering Noah’s
The unclued lights, 3/34, 12/31, 26/1A/33, 35/9, 39 and 18 PEAKE (an anagram of the red highlighted letters), are six of the actresses who appeared in the recent BBC production of Talking Heads. First prize Chris Edwards, Pudsey, LeedsRunners-up Elizabeth Duff, London NW3; Jenny Atkinson, Amersham, Bucks
Unclued lights are Brewer’s ‘Chambersisms’ — words from that dictionary with quirky definitions. First prize Maureen Quarmby, Oldham Runners-up M. & T. Taylor, Waterthorpe, Sheffield; Peter and Jeannie Chamberlain, Rushden, Northants
14 Down, TAPSALTEERIE, yields TAP 10, 15 and 35, three anagrams of SALTE (16, 32 and 36) and ERIE and three Great Lakes (2, 24 and 26) First prize Roger Howell, Lympstone, DevonRunners-up J. Selvidge, St Andrews, Guernsey; Arabella Woodrow, Riddlesden, W. Yorks
The unclued lights were all languages which are written from right to left, entered in that manner in the grid. First prize John Fanshawe, London NW3 Runners-up E.C. Hynard, Guernsey, Lucy Robinson, London N16
The seventeen entries clued by definition only required removal of the abbreviation BR ( = Britain), in keeping with the highlighted ‘BREXIT POLICY’. First prize Elizabeth Hogg, London SW13Runners-up Peter Moody, Portchester, Hampshire; J. Anson, Birmingham
The unclued lights include the name of a British daily newspaper; 3/26A, 9/35, 12, 24, 28/31D and 34/21. First prize Susan Hay, Old Perton, Staffs Runners-up Alison Gillam, Knotty Green, Bucks; Laurence Pearce, Lympstone, Devon
The word is TACK. In the order of the headwords in Chambers, except for the fifth, their meanings are indicated by: COURSE OF ACTION (1A), BITS (12), COMESTIBLES (16), ACUTE NOISE (33/24), LEASED TENEMENT (42) and DISTINCTIVE FLAVOUR (10/5). TACK in the tenth row was to be shaded. The title indicates the fifth headword’s meaning.
22D was TABLEWARE, and the quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson reads: ‘The louder he talked of his honour, the faster we counted our spoons.’ First prize Oenone Green, Feltham, MiddlesexRunners-up Stephen Saunders, Midford, Bath; Len Coumbe, Benfleet, Essex
The unclued lights Across are Shakespearean LORDS and the Down ones are LADIES. (The plant ‘lords and ladies’ is an ARUM.) First prize Giles Cattermole, Orpington, KentRunners-up Norman Watterson, Hillsborough, Co. Down; Terry Lavell, London E17
Unclued lights suggested a section of the international radio communications alphabet: Bravo (VILLAIN: 6), Charlie (DIMWIT: 16), Delta (DEPOSIT: 19), Echo (MIMIC: 15A), Foxtrot (DANCE: 38), Golf (GAME: 36) and Hotel (BOARDING HOUSE: 1D). ZULU appears in the third row and was to be shaded. The title suggests ‘alpha’. First prize Geoffrey Peake, Stalybridge, Cheshire
Unclued lights are marches by John Philip SOUSA, as hinted by the title: 4/1A, 14/12, 20D, 33A/17, 37/29/26, and 41 First prize Thulasi Karunakaran, Thame, OxfordshireRunners up Susan Hay, South StaffordshirePeter Moody, Fareham, Hampshire
The unclued lights are the four Labour MPs who stood for election as Labour’s leader to succeed Jeremy Corbyn: 11, 18/12, 28/16 and 36/41. The red squares reveal ANGELA RAYNER, the deputy leader. First prize Sara MacIntosh, Darlington, Co. Durham Runners-up Kevin Ward, Quorn, Leicestershire; Belinda Bridgen, London NW8
The thirteen unclued lights are all breads, hence the puzzle’s real title at 17A. First prize Nicholas Grogan, Purley, SurreyRunners-up Clare Reynolds, London SE24; Mrs E. Knights, Wisbech, Cambs
Unclued lights were characters in the musical Oklahoma!, 2/20, 4A, 10, 22, 24, 30, 35/15D. They are AUNT ELLER, WILL PARKER, LAUREY WILLIAMS, ALI HAKIM, CURLY MCLAIN, JUD FRY, and ADO ANNIE. OK (all right) is the abbreviation for the state First prize Carole Smallhorn, Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos Runners-up Ian Dempsey, Oldwick, New Jersey; Roger Dickinson,
The paired unclued lights (1D/6, 14/25, 36/32 and 39/1A) are, AS THEY SAY when the title of the puzzle is translated, four French idioms listed in Brewer. First prize Clive West, Old Windsor, BerkshireRunners-up Simon Coxall, Royston, Hertfordshire; Mark Saxon, Stockport
Unclued lights are anagrams of the names of countries (anagram of Cretinous): UNHOARDS (1A: anagram of Honduras), ATWAIN (5: Taiwan), OBANG (37: Gabon), ELCHI (38: Chile), DAIMONIC (43: Dominica), RUBINE (10: Brunei), TANAGRINE (11: Argentina), LAIRAGE (15: Algeria), SERIAL (30: Israel) and RAIN (36: Iran). First prize Sue Pounder, Ashton-under-LyneRunners-up Tony Alers-Hankey, London W4; Andrew
Alexandre DUMAS père wrote The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, whose eponymous characters were Athos, Porthos, Aramis and (Edmond) Dantès. First prize Magdalena Deptula, Eton, Berkshire Runners-up Storm Hutchinson, Dulas, Anglesey; Ian Shiels, Leeds
The unclued lights, when preceded by a US state, form MISSISSIPPI 11, CALIFORNIA 22, VIRGINIA 27, HAWAII 37, RHODE ISLAND 40, OREGON 10, KENTUCKY 14 and INDIANA 7D. First prize David Simmonds, Crayford, DartfordRunners-up Fran Morrison, London SW15; Andrew Herbert, Brooke, Norfolk
