3D Crossword Solution – April 2025

Clues by Curmudgeon and Grid by Chalicea

Theme: The Great Gatsby, published April 10, 1925

Winner: Ralph Power of Bristol

Review of the April 2025 3D crossword

Having just returned from the annual 3D Championship Lunch, for which special thanks go to Nora Boswell for her faultless organisation, it was a pleasure to meet most of the key members of the team that make this charitable enterprise such an enduring success. This was my first attendance at the “World Championship” presentation event, and I was both reassured and privileged to make the acquaintance face to face of several prominent characters from the crossword fraternity: likeable folk, generous, clever, amusing, inventive and slightly eccentric, maybe – all inspired and supported by our President, Eric Westbrook, among many kindred spirits.

The speeches after lunch were a timely reminder that, ordinarily, the secret of a successful three-dimensional puzzle is the symbiotic relationship between the architect of the grid and the setter of the clues. When one person can brilliantly combine the two roles, as is the case here, since Curmudgeon and Chalicea are indeed the same person, my admiration knows no bounds.

At the risk of repeating a quote from my review of Curmudgeon’s 2024 puzzle on the Paris Olympics, “her crosswords are popular because they usually contain lots of thematic material and are not too difficult.” In her current offering (April 2025) these qualities were fully exemplified by the number of thematic threads to be unravelled in the preamble and the relative transparency and solvability of so many of the clues.

It is noticeable over the last few years that grids using variations of horizontal 7×5 tiers are becoming more popular, since they allow enough flexibility for designers to avoid complex writhing snakes. Yes, on occasion, this does mean that some of the solutions are rarer words, and this was certainly the case here, but these are a price worth paying as far as this reviewer is concerned. I suspect most solvers are happy to expand their vocabularies and Curmudgeon is alert to avoiding any uncertainty in her clueing: ALULA, AMBS-ACE, DOMINIE, JABOT, NAEVI, NOTANDA, NYSSA, RIKISHI, ZORSE were all new words to me, but I had relatively little difficulty in working them out.

Other clues that caused a smile with their clever cryptic indicators were for BONIEST (‘most pretty losing fatness essentially’), MEANDER (‘fixer taking a stroll’), NAEBODY (‘dubiously done by a’), OAKEN (‘essentially shows a range of knowledge’) and USELESS (‘advice to wasteful consumer’). Once again, however, I am stumped by Frank Paul’s drawing, which I assume must include our previous prime minister, but I can get no further.

Having managed to cold solve so many fair and sound clues, the theme emerged quickly. THE GREAT GATSBY (a story set in the hedonistic JAZZ AGE involving JAY GATSBY and DAISY – so cleverly linked in the puzzle) is a novel that has inspired multiple artistic adaptations over the last 100 years, including stage, ballet, cinema and TV. It is particularly topical here in the UK in 2025, since the hit Broadway musical version has recently premiered in the West End of London. Ironically, it was not a commercial success for F Scott Fitzgerald, who died at the age of 54 in 1940 thinking it was a failure. However, its theme of the AMERICAN DREAM gained popularity during the Second World War, when free copies of the book were distributed to US soldiers serving abroad and the novel is now widely considered to be a masterwork of American literature.

Finally, thanks to Curmudgeon for compiling exactly the kind of 3D crossword that is both encouraging to newcomers and satisfying to more experienced solvers.

KM

Grid solution

Visual clue

Former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak channels his inner Keir Starmer, his successor. The Odd Couple (from the 1968 film) pointing to Starmer indicates we only want the odd letters in his name. Using the first names of both PMs gives us:

K(e)I(r) in RISHI = RIKISHI

Background image

The backdrop to this month’s puzzle is a mirror image of Saxophon mit Mundstück auf einer Bühne (Saxophone with mouthpiece on a stage) by David Lohner (CC0 1.0 licence).

Clues and explanations

April Extra clue-writing competition

An unintentional omission in the April puzzle gave solvers an opportunity to test their mettle as setters. Solvers were invited to supply the missing clue for 2d’s FANATIC, and they did so with enthusiasm. Thirty-two clues were submitted by 25 different entrants, thus ensuring judges Komorník and Jolt had plenty to chew over.

We considered the clues without knowing who wrote them and whittled the initial offerings down to a shortlist of seven. Our criteria were soundness, fairness, and surface coherence. Extra credit was given for a thematic connection (FANATIC was part of a crossword puzzle after all) and for raising a smile, an “ooh”, and especially an “I wish I’d thought of that!”.

Special mention goes to (in no particular order):

Devotee? In fact, a radical
IN FACT A*
Hamish Symington

This was a popular anagram. We especially liked the economy and surface reading of this offering.

Exhibiting extreme zeal, the heads of the Canteen joined in a shake-up of NAAFI
FANATIC (“exhibiting extreme zeal”): TC (the heads of the Canteen) joined in a shakeup (rearrangement) of NAAFI.
Jake Schumacher

This well-constructed clue tells a coherent story.

FIFA can’t eject loud deranged supporter
Anagram (deranged) FIFACANT – (eject) F (loud) = Supporter (definition).
Jonathan Treml

Another good surface. The definition is a little vague without also including in it ‘deranged’, but that would be recruiting the word to do double duty. 

Crank punkah over heartless Greek?
The definition is CRANK. FAN (punkah) over ATTIC (Greek) without its middle letter [heartless].
The word ‘over’ is apposite as this is a down clue and FAN is over ATIC.
The question mark is included as punkahs are used in India rather than Greece.
Mike Harper

‘Crank’ is well-chosen, both for the definition and surface, and as a red herring anagram indicator, it also works to misdirect attention.

Obsessive flapper with a nervous twitch
Obsessive = fanatic; flapper = fan, a, nervous twitch = tic
I concede that “flapper = fan” is probably tenuous, but I wanted to create a thematically-appropriate image of the sort of zany character you might find at one of Gatsby’s parties
Dannish Babar

Yes, ‘flapper’ is indeed tenuous ­– a question mark would indicate this – but points for evoking the Jazz Age setting of the puzzle. 

Can fit a crazy extremist (7)
Anagram of ‘can fit a’ with ‘crazy’ being the anagrind, and ‘extremist’ meaning ‘fanatic’.
Rachel Sheldon

Another succinct and evocative anagram clue.

The winning clue had all the right ingredients, with a meta-thematic wink:

One mad about missing clue – cue final act mayhem.

Take “cue final act” and remove the missing “clue”, then anagram as indicated by “mayhem”. Definition given by “one mad about”.

Jenny Hatchell

Congratulations Jenny and thank you to everyone who entered.

Solvers’ comments

Excellent puzzle with the right mix of easier and more obscure clues. [JP]

Lovely puzzle but very tough in places. Thanks to Curmudgeon and Chalicea for the challenge. I really loved the theme, having taught that Fitzgerald novel to my English students over a couple of decades. [JA]

Loved the theme and enjoyed finding the obscure words from the many parts of the clue – always satisfying. Thank you. [HH]

A brilliant crossword for a brilliant novel. [RE]

Rather a swift run through this month but some interesting words. I read the book some years ago; it didn’t impress me as “the great American novel”. 34 ZORSE hasn’t made it to the OED yet; I guess ODE has more timely updates. Wikip to the rescue, though the answer was plain. [MJ]

Very enjoyable puzzle, thank you. A few unusual words were all deducible from the clues. Particularly enjoyed days 21 and 32. [JT]

Despite not having gone to Oggsford College, I enjoyed this evocation of Trimalchio in West Egg. [NI]

Thanks to Curmudgeon and Chalicea for an entertaining puzzle. Now to think of a clue for 2d! [RS]

Very enjoyable [LA]

Another enthralling puzzle with plenty of challenges along the way. [MH]

Interesting theme easy to identify early on. Nothing too tricky. [SB]

Searched high and low for a hidden clue for 2d for MUCH longer than I care to admit… this is why we check our emails and wait for the appropriate month to start puzzles 😂 I particularly enjoyed not having to do any research once I had figured out the theme (thanks, Canadian Grade 12 English curriculum). Learned a few new words and enjoyed lots of very satisfying clue parsings. Cheers, Curmudgeon & Chalicea! [MS]

That was easy. [DR]

Mostly straightforward cluing with a free interesting words to make us work harder. [J&JH]

After our first pass, we had the vast majority of circled cells filled, so the rest of the thematic answers, including the theme itself, became apparent. An enjoyable puzzle with some good cluing and several new words. Thanks Curmudgeon and Chalicea. [CW]

Fun to do [RC]

Very enjoyable, but I was stumped towards the end when I could see no clue for 2 down, until I started to submit my solution! I should have checked this page before ripping my hair out….too late now, I’m nearly bald!😉👶 [MN]

I’ve managed to avoid The Great Gatsby in its various versions, but enough of it seeps through that I got the general idea pretty quickly. Quite a high nho count with the likes of NYSSA, ALULA &c, but these days NAEVI seems like a crossword staple. [PA]

I really enjoyed it. Probably the easiest so far though the one with an answer I wasn’t quite sure on. I did really enjoy some clues I thought were very clever. [HM]

Terrific [RL]

A lot of obscure words but very enjoyable. I spent ages trying to find clue for 2d. [KD]

Very enjoyable, several new words and a clue writing contest to boot! [GW]

Finally a theme I’m familiar with! Though I’m sure the Easter eggs would be gettable for someone with only a passing familiarity (or the wikipedia page open). A lot of words I had to look up to make sure they were real, but only BUCKSOM gave me real trouble – archaic sense AND spelling confused google. Nice picture clue this time too. Got the word clue first but it made sense after the hints came out. Also enjoyed coming up with clues for 14.5, well done for turning an accident into a fun extra! Overall great puzzle this month. [BR]

A bit of a toughie, with a higher than average number of oscure / unknown words – ALULA, AMBS-ACE, BUCKSOM, DOMINIE, JABOT, NOTANTA, NYSSA, RIKISHI, ZORSE!! Makes it harder to solve but also a bit less fun as you’re not just solving the clueing, but having to research whether that word exists or not. Interesting theme. With thanks to Curmudgeon and Chalicea. [JC]

Very nice and intricate with some very witty clues (as usual I prefer the pithy ones) and an interesting theme. I don’t understand Day 4, and don’t fully understand Day 9, but I am sure that Day 6 is the wrong way round – that is a clue for BONNIEST which ‘would’ become most scrawny if it lost an N: “Prettiest, losing fatness essentially, has become most scrawny” works. [EF]

😎 [DM]

I enjoyed this one, I worked out the theme quickly, but even with the unclued letters in, there was lots to puzzle over. [SB]

Fun! [JS]

Fair clues, as expected from Curmudgeon! I think I prefer puzzles which are themed in the clues than the answers though. [HS]

Lots of never-heard-of words but all fairly clued so happy days. Thanks to Curmudgeon. [SC]

Some tricky definitions! [JC]

A couple of tricky clues but mostly straightforward. [PD]

A very enjoyable and satisfying challenge. Brought back memories of a great novel and a great film! [JB]

Nice puzzle with lots of thematic content. [TH]

Great theme! I enjoyed getting all the unclued entries. Lots of new words for me in this – I guess somewhat inevitable given the extent of theme words in the grid. Thanks to all. [BS]

The picture should have given me a big hint. Ambs-ace is new to me. [MM]

A dream of a puzzle and a reminder of a great novel. [SB]

Great little puzzle! Timely confirmation if we needed it that the American dream is officially dead… though I am stumped by the second part of Frank Paul’s picture clue. [MS]

Great stuff, thank you! [DB]

Another thoroughly enjoyable challenge with some interesting new vocabulary for me, thank you! [SF]

Nice, lots of unknown words. [JM]

Excellent [AJ]

I’ve definitely learned some new words. Some are tough but eventually gettable. [JC]

Great puzzle, just been to see the musical. [MD]