Clues by Vlad and Grid by Gin
Theme: The American Revolution (1775-1783); Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776
Winner: Abby Braunsdorf of Indiana, USA
Review of the July 2026 3D crossword
Dials this month, and a gimmick down the core. As usual with this type of diagram, we get a lot of entries to solve. More bang for your buck as we say here in the States. The legend tries hard not to tip its hand, but we’re commemorating the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence with entries related to the US and the Revolutionary War. That pretty much had to be the theme this month didn’t it? I was going to take a swing at it myself but figured everyone else had the same idea (and Mel Brooks was more fun). At least I can do my patriotic duty and review this puzzle as an American (who has solved thousands of British cryptics).
One of the advantages of this sort of puzzle is that while there are a lot of 5- and 7-letter lights in the d and di directions, things are practically unrestrained in C and AC. Add to that the gimmick that allows for another letter (or not) in those di words and we have a good mix of word lengths.
The vocabulary is mostly straightforward with less thematic content than I’d like in a puzzle this big, but it makes for a relatively quick solve. Speaking of (and from) the theme, I can tell you PEGS BACK would be inscrutable to a lot of the US as cribbage isn’t as popular over here. (“Level pegging” isn’t even a common phrase, which is a shame.) There are some wonderful longer entries that the format enables like BOWLING GREEN, CARACARA, and POPE’S CREEK as well as the snaking LAFAYETTE (whose statue in this city named for him is not far from here).
Cluing tends toward the easier side, but that’s nice in these larger puzzles. Again for a US audience, 2 would be difficult as there weren’t Kas in the States. 11 is another one my countrymen will have trouble with as Bryant & May isn’t a thing here (nor do I recall it being one in my youth). Many of the clues were humorous. I particularly like 6 and 25. The thematic 39 and 45 worked nicely.
The gimmick was easy to handle because the lengths of the entries were given, so it was more an aid than a hindrance. And it allowed for those 8-letter words we don’t get enough of most months. The resulting 14 core letters to provide us two 7-letter scrambled Easter Eggs was messy but we were given clues that made them easier to find. You should’ve gone straight to ON for “running” and MAC or IAN for “Scotsman” which makes the other letters easy to sort out even if you don’t know many of the Revolutionary War Battles. And sure enough the Battle of MACHIAS (June 11-12, 1775) and TRENTON (December 26, 1776) are appropriately spaced.
The pictorial clue shows a bit of music in C major that is indicated with a p dynamic and consists of two whole notes on the bottom line of the treble staff, above which we are told to remove pi. Pretty sure that parses as PIANO-PI + MI (III in C) + E (note) = ANOMIE. A trickier clue than the one on Day 4, I’d say.
The background image is of a Cinerama theatre. There are not many of those remaining. I saw How The West Was Won in all its 3-strip glory at the dome in LA twenty-odd years ago and it was quite a spectacle. And of course that picture was used because CINERAMA anagrams to AMERICAN. I have been assured this is merely a coincidence and did not contribute to the coining of that name. Too bad. I’d have awarded them cool points for that.
While the 250th celebrations here in the States fizzled compared to those for the Bicentennial, this puzzle does not disappoint. With varied word lengths, an interesting gimmick and approachable clues, it makes for a pleasant summer break. It’s too hot outside for picnics and parades anyway. Stay indoors and solve more crosswords.
ab
Grid solution
Visual clue
A musical stave with p for piano (play softly), the symbol for pi crossed out, and two E notes tells us to remove pi from PIANO and add two Es. To end up with the right number of letters, one of the Es will need to be in its solfège form:
(pi)ANO MI E = ANOMIE
Background image
The backdrop to this month’s puzzle of a Cinerama — an anagram of AMERICAN, i.e. American revolution — is by SounderBruce (CC BY-SA 2.0 licence).
Clues and explanations
Thematic solutions are indicated with an asterisk.
| Day | Solution | Clue | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACTIVE | 41di Bill finally learnt Vlad’s voice (6) | Voice. AC + (learn)T + I’VE |
| 2 | ALASKA | 17di Oh, dear! Ford’s in a state (6) | A state. ALAS + (Ford) KA |
| 3 | ALSACE | 15di Like taking son to church in French region (6) | French region. A LA round S + CE |
| 4 | ANOMIE | 8di Refusal to be entertained by Nancy’s friend (lack of moral values!) (6) | lack of moral values. NO in AMIE (Nancy is a French city) |
| 5 | ASHTON | 29di Choreographer has not moved (6) | Choreographer. (HAS NOT)* Frederick Ashton, English dancer and choreographer |
| 6 | AUTHOR | 26di Writer a god, you admitted (6) | Writer. A THOR round U |
| 7 | AWASH | 21di Flooded mostly elsewhere by Spanish coast (5) | Flooded. AWA(y) + S(panis)H |
| 8 | BANAL | 34di Obvious! Don’t let convicted tax cheat come (5) | Obvious. BAN AL (Capone, only convicted of tax evasion) |
| 9 | BOTHER | 28AC-2,27di Possible threat online? That woman’s trouble (6) | trouble. BOT + HER (The clue for Day 9 belonged to an earlier version of the grid but is included here for owners of the printed calendar.) |
| 10 | BOWLING GREEN* | 28AC-7,25AC-5 Woods played here with singer getting birdie – lots of energy surprisingly (7,5) | Woods played here. BING round OWL + ENERG(y)* A term for lawn bowls, which were originally made of wood |
| 11 | BRYAN | 28C-5 Fellow briefly May’s strike partner (5) | May’s strike partner. BRYAN(t) and May, firm who made matches |
| 12 | BY THE BY | 9d Article in Times reprinted, incidentally (2,3,2) | incidentally. THE in BY BY |
| 13 | CARACARA | 24di Twice caught a semi-rare bird of prey (8) | bird of prey. C + A + RA(re) x 2 |
| 14 | COMUS | 5di Disco music entertains Greek god (5) | Greek god. Hidden in disCO MUSic God of revelry (and much else) |
| 15 | DAWN RAID | 11di Surprise call from wife visiting one desperate Romeo – help! (4,4) | Surprise call. W in (Desperate) DAN R AID |
| 16 | EVOKE | 6di Call up gardener to take care of hollow tree? (5) | Call up. EVE round O(a)K |
| 17 | EXTOL | 30di Former boyfriend has chance to return – it’s big up! (5) | big up. EX + LOT rev |
| 18 | EYRIE | 13di High-rise accommodation sounded weird for many (5) | High-rise accommodation. “EERIE” hom |
| 19 | FILESET | 39AC It feels wrong for linked group of documents stored (7) | linked group of documents stored. IT FEELS* |
| 20 | GAINED ON | 32di Got closer to Angie working with prof (6,2) | Got closer to. ANGIE* + DON |
| 21 | GEORGES* | 1d Guineas hope’s last – feeds greedily going round (7) | Guineas. GORGES round (hop)E |
| 22 | HAIRNETS | 10di The rain’s ruined flimsy head coverings (8) | flimsy head coverings. (THE RAINS)* |
| 23 | INTIME | 38di Bosom pal’s not late (6) | Bosom pal. IN TIME |
| 24 | KIMONO | 7di I’m wearing knockout number as national dress (6) | national dress. I’M in KO NO |
| 25 | LAFAYETTE* | 40AC-3,39up French nobleman dressing a female in baby clothes (9) | French nobleman. A F in LAYETTE |
| 26 | LOBSTER | 37up Throw back endless seafood (7) | seafood. LOB + STER(n) |
| 27 | LUNATIC | 40up Crazy nationalist visits him in Paris college (7) | Crazy. NAT in LUI (French for him) + C |
| 28 | OBESE | 31di Honours egghead with a large corporation (5) | with a large corporation. OBES + E(gg) |
| 29 | OCHER | 27di Local colour I missed in heroic remake (5) | Local colour. HERO(i)C* (US (local) spelling) |
| 30 | OPTIMA | 35di Work with old Wimbledon favourite, one offering the best conditions (6) | the best conditions. O +P TIM (Henman) + A |
| 31 | PARAGON | 2d Quiet area of Spain is ideal (7) | ideal. P + ARAGON |
| 32 | PATRIOT* | 3d Flag-waver’s affectionate touch leads to disorder (7) | Flag-waver. PAT + RIOT |
| 33 | PEGS BACK | 2AC Snip reduces deficit? (4,4) | reduces deficit. i.e. PINS rev (inverse clue) |
| 34 | PETITE | 42di Not big favourite, I note (6) | Not big. PET + I + TE |
| 35 | PONDY | 12di Marshy ground ultimately stops horse (5) | Marshy. (groun)D in PONY |
| 36 | POPE’S CREEK* | 2C Creep spoke about president’s birthplace (5,5) | president’s birthplace. (CREEP SPOKE)* George Washington’s birthplace |
| 37 | QUEENDOM | 33di Question Five to cryptic demon: what did Victoria rule? (8) | what did Victoria rule? QU E + DEMON* |
| 38 | RATE | 16AC Judge’s rule at conclusion of case (4) | Judge. R + AT + (cas)E |
| 39 | REDCOAT* | 23di In mess, do cater for old soldier (7) | old soldier. (DO CATER)* |
| 40 | SLAVER* | 18di,14AC European queen discredited old trader (6) | discredited old trader. SLAV + ER |
| 41 | SPACER | 22di Casper repaired part of old necklace (6) | part of old necklace. CASPER* |
| 42 | SPRAWLS | 4d Is manspreading wilfully at first (both sides) – pass with difficulty (7) | Is manspreading. (W(ilfully) LR PASS)* |
| 43 | STATER | 18AC At last sees Murphy’s old coin (6) | old coin. (see)S + TATER |
| 44 | STET | 18C Don’t change from 47, 46 (4) | Don’t change. Hidden in waSTE (47) Tones (46) |
| 45 | THE POND* | 19d-3,12di-4 Atlantic Ocean’s no depth? Ridiculous! (3,4) | Atlantic Ocean. (NO DEPTH)* |
| 46 | TONES | 36AC Lots defending English accents (5) | accents. TONS round E |
| 47 | WASTE | 20di Women like them occasionally spend extravagantly (5) | spend extravagantly. W + AS + T(h)E(m) |
| Required | TWO GEORGES | Antagonists (3,7) | King George III and George Washington |
| Required | MACHIAS | Scotsman, he is always so upfront (7) | MAC + first letters of He Is Always So |
| Required | TRENTON | River running (7) | ON after TRENT |
| Bonus | GAG LAY OAR SPY TWO | Five unclued words anagramming to PAST GLORY, WAY AGO | Level 5 Level 7 Level 3 Level 7 Level 3 |
Solvers’ comments
Confused by the 9/29 clash until the downloadable version appeared. Ingenious design and entertaining puzzle. [NI]
A good test, but some research needed for the Easter Eggs. [RP]
Good fun — sorting out the Easter Eggs taught me a bit of history. [TH]
Interesting theme – wasn’t aware of some of the history, eg the battles, it is always good to learn something new. Some tricky clues – I still don’t understand day 33 / 9ac but hey ho. Thanks to Vlad and Gin. [JC]
Loved the crossword but those events were hard. [RE]
Very tough. I was so convinced the “great actor” was going to be Queen Elizabeth II, born in 1923, and the two Georges her grandfather and father, though none of that made a lot of sense in terms of them being “antagonists at the birth”. As I got further into the puzzle, I had to rethink all of that and realise what “the birth of a great actor on the world stage” actually meant. It was a very clever puzzle indeed and involved many hours of brainwork to get to the “two events”. I am so glad that you didn’t ask for the “five unclued three-letter items” in order to complete the entry form, as I have searched and searched and cannot find them. [JA]
I should really have sent my solution in tomorrow (4th July) to fit the theme! Thanks to Vlad and Gin for a challenging puzzle. [RS]
Not easy but interesting and some good clues. Still don’t understand the illustration. [SG]
Lots of layers to this, each one enjoyable. I doubt any setter will Trump this for another 250 years! Thank you. [JT]
With two family parties coming up this month, I plunged in early, it looked like a very daunting puzzle but the clues were very easy. I have logged on to check that we are not actually required to list the five three-letter items, so since we don’t I will submit and may or may not look for them later! Hard to see where one is supposed to start with such a fussy supplementary task and no pointers. I think the answer to the original day 9 was BOTHER! Many thanks, an enjoyable if rather easy romp this month. [EF]
It took some time for the “actor” to become apparent. Completing the form has made me realise more thematic answers. I’d heard of Trenton but had to look up Machias. 4 I don’t think the definition fits. Anomie is hopelessness caused by…. 7 I’m not sure I like SH = Spanish coast. 29 Unannounced US spelling, though perhaps appropriate. [MJ]
Some clues were tricky. It took me a couple of solving sessions to make sure everything was entered in the grid and made sense. Over all, a very nice puzzle. [MG]
Lovely puzzle thanks Vlad and Gin. Enjoyed the whole process and learned some history too. [GW]
This was a fun introduction to the seven dial grid. Masterminds abound and left us fumbling to understand the hidden theme and Easter eggs. The additional clues to assist with identifying the events and whatever past glory ways ago was meant to unveil did not surface. As Americans, we are embarrassed by how long it took to realize what the birth of a great actor alluded to. [M&SS]
Relatively straight-forward and a quick solve. [AC]
OK, so day 9 was very confusing, but the entry form explains that. [CF]
Marvellous. Didn’t get the theme until after I’d completed the grid then all the related answers smacked me in the face. Surely 28, 27, 26 cannot be referring to anyone related to the theme??? [SB]
Scrabble letters were a great help with the battles! [PD]
Knew it was OCHER (elegant clue) and BOTHER for the deleted 9, also a nice clue. The compiler had to have made a mistake but it was only when I went to submit that my expected problem was solved. Many thanks for another great way to spend a hot July 🙂 [LB]
Always like this grid and different using 1 or 2 letters. Enjoyed 😎 [DM]
Another challenge and a lot of research into the battles! Will I remember any of them? No idea about the 5 x3 letter items, I’m afraid. Maybe hints and tips will help. Thanks as always for a welcome activity for a heatwave. [HH]
I think I have all the answers, but am still mystified about the anniversary, and the ‘antagonists’, and the seemingly superfluous three letter words making up the anagram in the last bit of the instruction, so feels oddly incomplete… but still a fun puzzle, and clues that yielded quite easily. [MS]
Another enjoyable puzzle. It took a while to get the theme, and longer to get the events, but it all fell into place eventually! [SB]
This was a very enjoyable, very challenging puzzle with a well-hidden theme that I found hard to crack until most of the clues were in. Incredibly cleverly made, a real treat – thanks! [SH]
Ran into a few sticking points due to having zero prior knowledge about this theme, but overall it was a great puzzle to solve! Thanks, Vlad & Gin 🙏🏼 [MS]
Wow, that was quite a challenge, which very nearly defeated me! A clever theme brilliantly executed. [SF]
Very enjoyable as usual. All clues were fair and worked well. I was unfamiliar with the theme’s battles, but with all letters given in central cells, it was not too difficult to deduce both, given the clues with no wordplay. Nice one, THANK YOU👌😀 [MN]
What a relief to find the 5 unclued 3-letter items were not needed on the entry form! I had had plenty of challenges in solving this puzzle up to then and was delighted to stop while I was still enjoying it! [JB]
Excellent. [RL]
I found the events very dificult to determine, but enjoyed the puzzle. [KD]
Well, that stretched my brain and I would have had no chance of finishing it without the excellent Hints & Tips. The chances of me having solved 100% correctly are very low but I will happily wait for the answers in the Newsletter. Tremendous fun and well done to designer and setter. Later… I was correct about not achieving 100% but now am well into the area of diminishing returns. [NB]
A very nice puzzle all round, but had no chance of getting the theme and two 7-letter words until I read the hints and tips, and the five 3-letter items remain unclear to me! [JN]
Very enjoyable, took me right back to school history lessons, thank you! [AR]
Theme was well concealed, all the more satisfying when we worked it out. [J&JH]
Sometimes I look at the rubric and think ‘no, not for me’ but a little bit of perseverance can get you to the end, and the warm feeling that goes with it. I only wish the nation whose anniversary we note had a bit more to celebrate at the moment! [PA]
Loved it apart from the 5 unclued three-letter items. Thanks for not needing them even though I spent ages looking for them. [PS]
Another excellent puzzle! I was initially confused by day 9 and the ‘three-letter items’ instruction so thank you for the clarification. [HJ]
Well, I’ve got there, but I’m still not overly sure of who the ‘great actor’ is or why there are two Georges. Washington, sure, but the other? Maybe I’m being thick. And I find it hard to find a load of three letter items without any other clues… so I feel like I’ve fallen short here. As expected, some very fine clues; I liked ASHTON and AUTHOR particularly. [HS]
Enjoyable challenge! [MH]
Very hard! I cannot work out what I have wrong 🙁 [NP]
Glad I checked the hints and tips as I hadn’t really solved day 29 because I had filled it in from day 9 which apparently should have been ignored. I found the plethora of extra bits rather overwhelming, I should have ignored them until much later – it turned out I didn’t need to worry about apparently missing spaces. Which was a relief. I learned some new things about the lead up to US independence – not sure how much I’ll remember. I had to slightly change my answer to 33 to fit the crossers, but can’t quite parse the wordplay. Once I’d stopped worrying about the complications I enjoyed answering individual clues. And it seems I can’t read my own writing. [JC]
Tough one this, but very satisfying. [MD]
Tough. Needed the hints for the Easter eggs! Thanks to Vlad and Gin. [JS]