Clues by Guinevere and Grid by Xam
Theme: John Constable, b. 11th June 1776
Winner: Ken Davis of NSW, Australia
Review of the April Extra 2026 3D crossword
A 7 x 5 x 7 grid and a photo of a policeman are our entry points to the first Extra of the year. Sometimes these can be tricky, but this one is straightforward and well-themed. Our honoree is present at 14, and several of his subjects make appearances as well. April must be Painter Month.
Ordinarily, I rely on notations I make in the calendar cells that express any surprise or difficulty I had with the clues or vocabulary. That’s because in most cases, I solve the puzzle months in advance and just quickly try to solve the clues as I go over them again for my review. Not so this time, obviously, as the puzzle was only posted last month, and yet in reviewing the clues just now I had considerably more difficulty with two of them then I apparently did a few weeks ago when I solved this. I hope I’m not getting dumber.
The clues in question were 3– A RUN (D ELM) ILL– which is oddly ordered to make the surface better, but not too tricky, I guess. Maybe it wasn’t worthy of markup, but I didn’t solve it in my allotted time on review. The other was18– NET(t)LE YABBE(r) Y– which is also jumbled a bit to make a nice surface, but tripped me up trying to re-suss it today. I solved the other clues about as fast as I could read them, so I’d say they were pretty smooth.
My only complaint would probably be with 11, which is a fine cryptic definition, but no help if you don’t know which lighthouse it’s about. The theme will get you there if you know Constable’s works, but it’s not as much general knowledge as the very similar clue for LOUVRE at 16.
The vocabulary includes several impressive themed entries and a few iffy words (LUMME, OLLAV, PALUDAL), but nothing hideous. It’s nice to see uncommon words as long as the cluing is approachable.
The Easter Eggs were (of course) THE HAY WAIN and CLOUDS. I’ve become a bit disenchanted with random common letters being highlighted (I’ve tried to step up from that in my puzzles lately), but it’s par for the course on these.
If you were looking to up your annual score for the Tournament, this Extra was a good chance to get another point. With a strong theme and solid cluing, this puzzle provides a welcome landscape for your spring break.
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Grid solution
Background image
The backdrop to this month’s puzzle of a police constable is by Tom Grünbauer on Unsplash.
Clues and explanations
Thematic solutions are indicated with an asterisk.
| Day | Solution | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AGLEE | 21aw Scotsman’s distorted notable Elgar piece, playing it backwards! (5) | Scotsman’s distorted. Hidden rev. notablE ELGAr |
| 2 | AMBIT | 18to Scope for a loss leader giving up a grand (5) | Scope. (g)AMBIT |
| 3 | ARUNDEL MILL* | 6d,32ba,31up-3 Amateur work badly covering deserted timber Sussex building in paint (7,4) | Sussex building in paint. A(mateur) RUN D(eserted) ELM ILL |
| 4 | ATTRACT | 3d Pull together a tense plot (7) | Pull together. A T TRACT |
| 5 | BELIEVE | 2d Have conviction that insect bites spread evil (7) | Have conviction that. BE[EVIL*]E |
| 6 | CHATEAU | 11d Time shared for natter and a cuppa before beginning to unpack house (7) | house. CHAT(t)EA (time shared = one T) U(npack) |
| 7 | COPRA | 11to Origins of coconut oil, pressed – remarkably acidic (5) | &lit. First letters |
| 8 | ENDORSE | 4d Back uncrowned runner after tip? (7) | Back. END (h)ORSE |
| 9 | EXPEDITE | 33up,8aw-2 Facilitate old sport accepting change (8) | Facilitate. EX P[EDIT]E |
| 10 | HALVE | 35to From time to time wheat levies reduce to 50% (5) | reduce to 50%. wHeAt LeViEs |
| 11 | HARWICH LIGHTHOUSE* | 10d,30aw,34ac Essex guide to crafts and artwork (7,10) | Double def. First def cryptic. Ref. Harwich Low Lighthouse maritime museum |
| 12 | HOVE BEACH* | 34up-4,2aw Linger endlessly, only the second to observe every South Coast scene (4,5) | South Coast scene. HOVE(r) (o)B(serve) EACH |
| 13 | INDIE | 25to Music genre, popular and awful – run away! (5) | Music genre. IN DI(r)E |
| 14 | JOHN CONSTABLE* | 9ac,12d Cabot? Doctor Len Cabot’s a landscape specialist (4,9) | a landscape specialist. JOHN (Cabot) (LEN CABOTS)* |
| 15 | JUPITER | 9d-3,16to Little Jeremy’s concealing rampant sex god (7) | god. J[UP][IT]ER |
| 16 | LOUVRE | 14aw,17ba-2 Palace redesigned for public hangings? (6) | Cryptic def. |
| 17 | LUMME | 32ac No way livestream’s beginning with short French woman catching you by the ears? (5) | No way. L(ivestream) U MME (madame) |
| 18 | NETLEY ABBEY* | 12to,4ba Old Hampshire home for monks ‘at the end’, ultimately they irritate half the time and chatter incessantly (6,5) | Old Hampshire home for monks. NET(t)LE YABBE(r) (the)Y |
| 19 | OLLAV | 20aw ‘Start off objectively – everyone reflects nirvana at heart’ – Irish sage (5) | Irish sage. O ALL< V |
| 20 | OPEN-AIR | 20ac Begin song outside (4-3) | outside. OPEN AIR |
| 21 | PABULUM | 7d Bum Paul’s churned out mediocre entertainment… (7) | mediocre entertainment. (BUM PAUL)* |
| 22 | PALUDAL | 23ba …’Paul, lad, change it up a bit, this is bog-standard?’ (7) | bog-standard? (PAUL LAD)* |
| 23 | PERIAPT | 16ac Twin returning, wearing favourite amulet (7) | amulet. PE[PAIR<]T |
| 24 | RELATED | 13ac Told story about being adopted by revolutionary (7) | Told. R[TALE<]ED |
| 25 | REVERE | 28ac,29aw Give respect to King at all times (groveller, essentially) (6) | Give respect to. R EVER E |
| 26 | ROPABLE | 22aw,26d Like a wild horse of Pennsylvania, bachelor getting into ‘position’ (7) | RO[PA B]LE |
| 27 | THEATRE | 27ac Place for staging crazy art framed by you, previously (7) | Place for staging. THE[ART*]E |
| 28 | THUMBED | 15ac Unpleasant hum bedlinen’s got, well-worn? (7) | well-worn. Hidden. unpleasanT HUM BEDlinen |
| 29 | TIDED | 19to Ebbed and flowed, the first signs of twigs idly drifting effortlessly downstream (5) | Ebbed and flowed. First letters |
| 30 | TOTAL | 5d-5 Reckon too much cycling taking skin off calf (5) | Reckon. OTT→TOT (c)AL(f) |
| 31 | TRAMPET | 5ac Market knocked back dog (or similar animal) as a device to launch a jumper (7) | a device to launch a jumper. MART< PET |
| 32 | UNMET | 36to Not satisfied States working together with London officers (5) | Not satisfied. UN MET |
| 33 | VEILED | 24ac-6 Concealed infidel I eviscerated (taking guts, perversely) (6) | Concealed. Hidden rev. infiDEL I EViscerated |
| 34 | YARMOUTH JETTY* | 1d,27ac-2,9to Fly to York initially, following young person carrying weapon, one of 14’s pieces (8,5) | one of 14’s pieces. Y[ARM]OUTH JET TY |
| Required | THE HAY WAIN | Painting (yellow cells) | |
| Required | CLOUDS | A well-known subject (blue cells) |
Solvers’ comments
Very nice overall. For me, the Day 3 clue took quite some post-solve back-parsing. [DW]
A gentle solve, prompting a pleasant trip around Constable’s works. 2d was a great clue. [DR]
Solving the April puzzles helped me discover the rivalry that existed between both subjects. And rediscover their class and mastery. [MG]
Very enjoyable, thank you. [JT]
Enjoyable. Much more so when I realised I was confusing the terms away and back. [KD]
What fun! Lots of lovely new words to enjoy and some great and amusing clueing, one of the favourites being OLLAV. Great stuff Guinevere and Xam. [NB]
I had been to see the Turner/Constable exhibition at Tate Britain so enjoyed this pairing and not too difficult to get the theme on this one – looking forward to May:) [LB]
A quick one this time. [AC]
Nice one, enjoyed finding and admiring the subject’s work [SB]
Loved it as I looked at the paintings again [SG]
Excellent [RL]
Very enjoyable, and educative, as I’d not been aware of some of these paintings. Thank you, Guinevere and Xam! [SF]
A very enjoyable extra……managed it all in one go with a bit of googling for unfamiliar words. Nice that Constable got a look in after Turner. [JB]
An enjoyable solve whilst travelling through France on a train, although I was glad of access to the internet to check the answers beginning with ‘p’! Lumme raised a smile, I love it when I am reminded of once common words that seem to have fallen out of use. [SB]
Splendid tribute to a national treasure [NI]
I’m not too familiar with Constable’s work (apart from the obvious) so spent a happy hour trawling through lists of his pictures. I hadn’t realised they were quite so wide ranging. Thanks to Guinevere and Xam for an enjoyable puzzle. [RS]
A welcome relief after the last few puzzles, it was a bit confusing to have to grapple with Turner and Constable at the same time!! [EF]
Quite a bit of challenging Brit speak slang & fun deep dive into JCs work! [MS]
A very enjoyable solve. Got the theme at the outset, which was, of course very helpful. Several new words, including two at Paul’s expense :-). Also pleasing to be introduced to some of the painter’s less well known works. Thank you Guinevere and Xam. [CW]
I soon remembered the subject and easter eggs, but not the works included. I guess everyone will have to look them up. I barely remembered any of the other answers either. Is it too much of a hint to say the yellows make a painting? Clues to 16, 17 and 18 puzzling. [MJ]
A lovely learning experience – about John Constable’s artwork as well as some clever and interesting new words for my lexicon. Thanks to Guinevere and Xam. This was a wonderful challenge and solving it brought me a lot of enjoyment. [JA]
On the gentle side. Good range of clues related to the theme. Interesting and clear clueing [JP]
A work of art! [RP]
Still feeling cheated by last month’s Turner [RS]
A worthy subject to celebrate. Looking up the thematic answers was a bonus just because it was another opportunity to view some of the painter’s artistry. There were some new words to learn too, clued (of course) so that I could get them. Thanks to both Guinevere and Xam for an interesting, well-constructed 3D puzzle. [AB]
Broadened my knowledge of art works! [PD]
Delightful! Some tricky but scrupulously fair clueing (and references to Paul’s style made me smile). A few words that were new to me (days 7, 21 and 23), but always happy to learn new words — that’s part of the fun! And a great chance to savour the breathtaking beauty of the works of East Anglia’s famous son (describes me too, without the fame though… 😉 [MS]
My favorite of the year so far. Gentle solving, great cluing, new words (paludal, periapt), a new favorite word (ollav), and an unexpected chance to spend time with some wonderful art. Many thanks to Guinevere and Xam! [JS]
It’s been a while since I attempted a crossword, due to eye problems making it difficult focussing on clues and causing bad headaches! This was a nice puzzle to start back with, having a familiar theme and not too difficult. Now finished, my vision is blurred and it’s time for more eyedrops! Thanks for renewing my enthusiasm to return to my favourite pastime. [MN]
A lovely puzzle, I got the theme early which helped. Thanks Guinevere and Xam [GW]
Hot on the heels of Turner we get the other big hitter of English artists. I know less about Constable but was able to look up those unfamiliar to me. Had less trouble with parsing this one in general. Tittered a little seeing Paul being associated with bum and bog in two consecutive clues. It was a relief to see a straightforward grid. [JC]
Nice little amble through some of the masterworks of British painting. While I’ve by no means an encyclopaediac knowledge of the subject’s works, I knew enough to make reasonable guesses that tided me through the likes of day 3. Quite enjoyed the trio of P-obscurities starting at day 21. [PA]
Great stuff. Learned a lot about Constable, having previously known next to nothing. [MH]
Not a familiar theme subject for me whatsoever, but I always love a puzzle where I learn something new! I especially enjoyed the clues for Days 6, 8, 10, 16, 23 (new word for me!), 26, 27, 31, and 34. Couldn’t parse a few other clues confidently, but I think I figured out the missing answers out from context…🤞🏼 Thanks, Guinevere & Xam! ☺️ [MS]
A good solve😎👍 [DM]
A delightful (and educational, for this cultural desert!) puzzle – wasn’t too hard to jump to Constable from the pre-amble, but it was fun to solve and I learned a few things about his oeuvre along the way…thanks to G and X [MC]
A lovely coffee-time puzzle. A couple of the clues perhaps a little long; some others really beautiful surfaces. [HS]