Clues by Amoeba and Grid by Mang & Komorník
Theme: Cowes Week, Isle of Wight
Winner: Stephen Baines
Review of the August 2026 3D crossword
This month’s puzzle is a partnership between two stalwart veterans of the 3D Crossword community and a newcomer. Komorník and Mang are well known to us all and, between them, are responsible for some of the most inventive and interesting 3D grids. Here, as we shall discover, the unusual shape of the grids is a key element of the theme.
As fate would have it, at the 3D Crossword Dinner in Bromsgrove in May, I met three young setters, one of whom was Amoeba, a new name for me, and what a pleasure it was to be sitting next to him. He shared a lot of interesting comments about his puzzles in national newspapers and I learned something I did not know: that several national crossword editors impose a limit on the number of anagrams that can be used in each puzzle. Allow me also to give a plug to the printed crossword magazine to which he contributes (Google ‘Unch’ for more details). I can reassure you that the future of cryptic crosswords is safe in the hands of these bright, enthusiastic, passionate, and talented setters, all of whom are well under half my age!
So, on the evidence of this offering, the clueing discipline mentioned above has clearly served Amoeba well. Although we do not, as far as I know, impose any such notional ‘quota’ of anagrams or partial anagrams, he uses them sparingly and saves them for some excellent examples: FRESHWATER, GOES AFT, PATIENCE, CHURCHWOMAN, LILTS, CAULKHEAD, GALLEY-BAGGERS. Many of his other clues involve an impressive level of brevity and verbal dexterity, while retaining good surface readings: I especially liked GYBE, ARRANGE, GALLEY, MILK, DRINK, CATECHU. Add a smile for one old favourite, ‘flower’ for DEE in SPEED at 41, and the humorous homophone at YAWL. Of course, in these online times, young setters will push the boundaries of allusions beyond Chambers in their clueing – why shouldn’t they? Altogether a highly impressive debut from Amoeba and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the future.
As for the theme, we are told that the puzzle in fact contains three themes, including the grid itself. The frequent maritime references and solutions, together with REGATTA in the shaded cells, soon indicate that we are dealing here with the bicentennial of the COWES WEEK (hence the cattle in the background photograph) on the ISLE of WIGHT. The latter setting is reinforced by the solution at 23, although the variant spelling ‘gallybagger’ is a local cheese, and ‘caulkhead’, which is slang for an Isle of Wight resident. The grid itself, which is a lovely feature, can be interpreted either as yachting sails in a regatta or the shape of the Isle of Wight itself. Brilliant. However, there is a third theme, which, when I first completed the puzzle at the beginning of the month, I utterly failed to appreciate. Nonetheless, I emailed my submission and received confirmation that I had correctly solved all the clues and the additional requirements.
Prone as I am to occasional curmudgeonly behaviour, therefore, in my first draft of this review, I was somewhat critical of an ‘overly long and complicated preamble’, which contained references to thematic material that was not required to ‘solve’ the puzzle. A couple of weeks later, however, prompted by a helpful hint regarding the word ‘wonders’ in the Hints and Tips (and my mood softened by a good glass of pinot noir), I returned to Google and discovered the Five Wonders of the Isle of Wight. So, the scales dropped from my eyes, which only added to my appreciation of the skills of the constructors.
Although I may well return in future reviews to the debate around preambles, I shall conclude here by thanking Amoeba, Mang and Komorník sincerely for a thoroughly engaging and absorbing solving experience.
KM
Grid solution
Visual clue
A cat-o’-nine-tails followed by a hot tap surrounded by a broken pool cue gives:
CAT + (H in CUE*) = CATECHU
Background image
The backdrop to this month’s puzzle of some very curious cows is called ‘New Neighbours‘ by Ian Livesey (CC0 1.0).
Clues and explanations
Thematic solutions are indicated with an asterisk.
| Day | Solution | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMEN | 40ac The last word in noodle broth? Not originally (4) | The last word. (r)AMEN |
| 2 | APNOEA | 9d,33to-2 Breathing difficulty, after retirement age, starts to present again (6) | Breathing difficulty. A + P + AEON< |
| 3 | ARRANGE | 15to Order called in live (7) | Order. AR[RANG]E |
| 4 | BABEL | 1d Tower of cheese past going off (5) | Tower. BA(by)BEL |
| 5 | BABUCHE | 18ac Goethe’s book inspired by youngster’s darling slipper (7) | slipper. BA[BUCH]E BAE = slang for BABE |
| 6 | BLOCKED | 19aw Stopped philosopher punching Bachelor of Divinity (7) | Stopped. B[LOCKE]D |
| 7 | BOTTLES* | 18aw British fight back, capturing large vessels (7) | vessels. B + (SET TO)< around L Ref. IOW wonder (Newport that you can’t…) |
| 8 | CANNA | 43up Preserve North American plant (5) | plant. CAN+NA |
| 9 | CATAMARAN* | 43to-3,38up,12to-3 A revolutionary hit board game enthrals bad-tempered woman (9) | bad-tempered woman. [A RAM]< inside CATAN |
| 10 | CATECHU | 43to Extract about gold-plated technology (7) | Extract. C + A[TECH]U |
| 11 | CAULKHEAD* | 43ac,44to Islander cooked duck à la Russe through, in the end (9) | Islander. (DUCK ALA (russ)E (through)H)* IOW dialect |
| 12 | CHURCHWOMAN | 32to,28up-3,20aw How much can dilapidated houses ultimately shelter religious lady? (11) | religious lady? HOWMUCHCAN* around (shelte)R |
| 13 | COWAN | 32up Bully a new Scottish mason (5) | Scottish mason. COW + A + N |
| 14 | DRINK* | 7ac What writer needs on drive – whiskey? (5) | whiskey? DR + INK Ref. IOW wonder (Freshwater that you can’t…) |
| 15 | DRUMFUL | 29ba Doctor, I’m not sure nasty flu produces a lot of oil (7) | a lot of oil. DR + UM + FLU* |
| 16 | ELBA | 14to Israel barely holds place of exile (4) | place of exile. (isra)EL BA(rely) |
| 17 | EXCRETA | 33ba Old King worried about waste (7) | waste. EX + CR + ATE< |
| 18 | EXTRA | 6d More English climate activists surrounding Tesla, first of all (5) | More. E + X[T]R + A(ll) |
| 19 | FRESHMEN | 27aw,41ac First-years endlessly worry that woman, correct? (8) | First-years. FRE(t) + SH(e) + MEN(d) |
| 20 | FRESHWATER* | 27aw-5,30aw-2,31ac-4 Steer wharf to change some fish’s description? (10) | some fish’s description. STEERWHARF* IOW town and wonder |
| 21 | GALLED | 13to-5,6ac-2 Recalled convict was in the van, irritated (6) | irritated. LAG< + LED |
| 22 | GALLEY* | 13to-6 Grand marble kitchen, in the main? (6) | kitchen, in the main? G + ALLEY |
| 23 | GALLEY-BAGGERS* | 13to,1ac Scarecrows upset Billy Bragg, alleges striking account (6-7) | Scarecrows. (bill)YBRAGGALLEGES* IOW dialect |
| 24 | GOES AFT* | 13ac Heads back stage of reforms (4,3) | Heads back. STAGEOF* |
| 25 | GUSLA | 13d During festival, Suggs picked up instrument (5) | instrument. (festiv)AL SUG(gs)< |
| 26 | GYBE* | 2d-4 Change course, say, by lines heading north (4) | Change course. E[BY]G< |
| 27 | KETCHES* | 39ba Draws missing small boats (7) | boats. (s)KETCHES Sail ships |
| 28 | LABORER | 10ac Hand in US material about pirate from the East (7) | Hand in the US. RE[ROB]AL< |
| 29 | LAKE* | 22ac Mere poet’s lost book (4) | Mere. (b)LAKE IOW town and wonder (Lake where there’s no water) |
| 30 | LILTS | 10d Moves buoyantly, still moving (5) | Moves buoyantly. STILL* |
| 31 | MILK* | 17d Exploit rising artist briefly (4) | Exploit. KLIM(t)< Ref. IOW wonder (Cowes that you can’t…) |
| 32 | MOI | 23ac Indian PM leaves Germany to find me in neighbouring country (3) | me in neighbouring country. MO(d)I |
| 33 | NEEDLES* | 42ba-2,41up,14ac-2 All but unnecessary pointers (7) | pointers. NEEDLES(s) IOW wonder |
| 34 | NEWPORT* | 21ba City’s power shifts described by books (7) | City’. NT around POWER* IOW town and wonder |
| 35 | PATIENCE | 25ac,26to I can’t pee when playing card game (8) | card game. ICANTPEE* |
| 36 | RESCRUM | 4ba-2,3d,28ba-2 You might see this in Rugby play area after drinking second drink (7) | You might see this in Rugby. RE[S]C + RUM |
| 37 | RHONE | 8d Beginning to rewild Polish river (5) | river. R + HONE |
| 38 | RIG* | 8to Capital city lacking a doctor (3) | doctor. RIG(a) |
| 39 | SEAMEN* | 36aw,40ac Sailors spotted guards before noon (6) | Sailors. SE[AM]EN |
| 40 | SHAKABLE | 35aw-2,37up,11aw Liable to be rattled, Zulu leader almost ran (8) | Liable to be rattled. SHAKA + BLE(d) |
| 41 | SPEED | 5d Special climbing flower produces drug (5) | drug. SP + DEE< |
| 42 | SUDAN | 24ac African country’s paramilitaries breaking into song, oddly (5) | African country. UDA inside S(o)N(g) |
| 43 | TAMAR | 38up In the morning sailor crosses river (5) | river. T[AM]AR |
| 44 | THREADS* | 16to Leaves detective to collect personnel’s clothes (7) | clothes. T[HR]EA + DS Ref. IOW wonder (Needles you can’t…) |
| 45 | UNAPT | 44up Slow down extremely unfit guards (5) | Slow. NAP inside U(nfi)T |
| 46 | YAWL* | 34to Craft in Texas everyone talked about (4) | Craft. hom “Y’ALL” A sail ship |
| Required | COWES WEEK | Bicentenarian (5,4) | |
| Required | ISLE OF WIGHT | General setting (4,2,5) |
Solvers’ comments
Loved it xx [RE]
Took a while to identify the theme, but once we had we spotted plenty of thematic solutions, plus a couple of new words. Didn’t work out all the hints given in the rubric, but happy to have completed the puzzle in one sitting. Thank you Mang and Kormornik. [CW]
Some words were new to me, and I’m not sure I got them right. If not, hopefully Hints & Tips will help at the end of the month. Thanks for the puzzle. [RS]
Pretty much plain sailing in this REGATTA! Plenty of thematic material included here and completed the course in one sitting. Nice one again, so thank you👌😀 [MN]
No idea about the wonders, the key location, or the paradoxical partner. [RS]
I’m not sure I’ve identified all the thematic elements. I thought of IOW from Freshwater, near which I attended the festival in 1970. Unfortunately we had to leave before Hendrix came on. I look forward to enlightenment on: 5 BUCH in BAE? 9 CATAN round ? 17 EX + R in CETA? 18 E + T in XRA, for which I couldn’t find a reference? 19 FRE(T) + ? 36 I don’t see much rugby but I’d not heard of RESCRUM. [MJ]
Lots of clever sailing references made this enjoyable. With many thanks for the fun to Amoeba, Mang and Komornik, and to Ian Livesey for the punny photos! [JA]
Entertaining introduction to a location I have never visited. [NI]
A bit of a lull before the storm that is the Eight Dials of September, which I don’t mind at all. Brings back memories of a 60s holiday in 29 where the landlady fashioned up a stunning cheese soufflé. [PA]
Enjoyed it – a bit easier than last month. Hope I’ve got it right. [LA]
Lots of fun this month although not sure about the “wonders”. Favourite was Yawl! [HH]
Nice one [PB]
A wonderful excuse to sit out yet another extremely hot day in the shade! Yawl made me laugh, and I will definitely add galley bagger to my vocabulary (and great to see Billy Bragg referenced in a crossword!). Not sure that I got all the wonders listed but the puzzle was so well constructed to include them. [SB]
I learnt a lot about this event thanks to this crossword. Some difficult surfaces which made the solve a very enjoyable challenge. [MG]
Lovely, as always! [JN]
A lovely puzzle thanks to Mang and Komornik. Really enjoyable, took a while to get the theme and even longer to finish it, Great fun. [GW]
Great fun. A few words were unfamiliar to me but all were fairly clued. I struggled to parse Day 19 and wondered if the clue leads to freshers, but I was able to resolve it anyway, so amen to that. Thanks [JT]
When I sat back to look at the grid I realised how much thematic matter was in it. [PD]
The theme was nicely hidden. [AC]
This was an enjoyable puzzle, on a completely different theme. Thank you to all those who created the challenge! [SF]
A lot of very interesting and amusing clues and answers and I learned a lot about Isle of Wight dialect words. I was grumpy last month about concealed three-letter words, and felt exonerated by the solution – how were we expected to find them and why? The same applies this month to whatever the references are to ‘wonders’ in the preamble. [EF]
We weren’t cowed by the watching eyes and enjoyed the challenge over a couple of evenings. We learnt new words on days 5, 10, 11, 13 and 25 and particularly enjoyed 4 (not a cheese one expects in a crossword) 32 and 46. [D&DRR]
Put us in the mood to watch some boat racing! Great theme, masterful clues and plentiful tie-ins! [M&SS]
Took me ages but I think I got it right. Loved the picture. [SG]
Pretty tough, a fair few unfamiliar words and spellings, one of which was Day 10 so Frank Paul’s drawing was unfortunately no help at all and it took a while to parse the drawing even when I knew the answer! The puzzle did bring back some fantastic memories participating in the Gurt Gallybagger motorcycle rallies back in the 1990s. Brilliant times and many thanks to all for triggering those memories! A proper fun puzzle for me. [SC]
Once again an interesting topic, with thanks to Amoeba, Mang, Komornik et al for highlighting the event. Quite a few words I’d never heard of and tricky parsings – BABUCHE, CATECHU, CAULKHEAD, COWAN, GUSLA, GYBE and an unfamiliar meaning of CATAMARAN, which made it more challenging and therefore satisfying to finally unravel. Managed to reverse parse the picture clue for a change! [JC]
Loved the picture – made me laugh when I got Cowes Week:) Took a while to find the poem about the wonders. Fun as always. [LB]
A few I didn’t get without looking things up and even now I’m unconvinced by some! [HS]
Interesting puzzle with some information and dialect that was new to me! All very well clued. [JP]
Well the clue was in the photo this time for sure! Enough of a challenge to do in a heatwave. Enjoyed the Isle of Wight references. [JB]
A corker! [SW]
Enjoyable, but contained some vere obscure words. [KD]
A bit more tricky than usual understanding the theme, but I think I’m there. [SB]
Good puzzle, difficult, but enough thematic information to lead to the conclusion [MD]
Caulkhead! Well I never! [MM]
Excellent puzzle, and just how excellent, witty, and richly referential so many of the clues were only came into focus once I’d worked out the theme and the bicentenarian, which was only at the end, with the help of the tips and hints, so a big thank you to NI (who hinted all the ones I was struggling with!), as well as Amoeba, Mang and Komornik. and only then did this month’s beautiful photo make sense! But I did at least get Frank’s pictorial clue early on, which was quite satisfying. [MS]
A quick google suggested what I was looking for in general. This took me back to my childhood going to holiday camp on the IOW. The gift shop had lots of postcards featuring the 7 wonders. But I couldn’t find any reference to Ryde or walking in the grid – what am I missing? [JC]
My eternal admiration to anyone who looked at Mr Paul’s art and thought to themselves “aha, catechu!”. Thank you to Amoeba, Mang and Komornik for the fun challenge! [CPP]
Excellent [RL]
What an excellently made puzzle, crammed full of thematic references – I personally especially enjoyed an education on the “wonders” reference, when it finally dawned! [SH]
Nice [GS]
Obscure much? To this Yank, at least. Sweating bullets til the last possible day! [JS]
We didn’t understand all of the elements in the preamble but hoping that is not going to matter! [AR]
Never chuckled so much when we finally realised the theme. [JM]