3D Crossword Solution – June 2025

Clues by Paul and Grid by Absolution

Theme: Jaws, film premiered June 20, 1975

Winner: Roberta Etherington of Warwickshire

Review of the June 2025 3D crossword

A puzzle by Paul promises cryptic clueing of the highest quality. Many solvers would agree that Paul, who has been composing crosswords for the Guardian for thirty years, is UK’s Number One Crossword Setter, as he claims in his blogs and on his website. We are extremely grateful for the generous contributions he makes every year to the calendar. 

This month, as ever, we were treated to a feast of inventive, witty and challenging clues. I like homophones and there were three: BREWS/bruise, GRAZE/greys and GREAT/grate. Other favourites, with their cryptic elements, include NECKING (master of Brummie’s exhibitionists, ie NEC king), TACHE (what pet brushed over), CHEESE [(big) wheel on the board], UNCLE (filthy article scrubbed at the end), HIRED (wassup bloody), ENNUI (in the blackness of Camus, no end) and ICED TEA (a Diet Coke’s not acceptable, horrid).

The theme of the puzzle revealed itself early in the yellow cells from the solutions to (OUI)JA and (BRE)WS. I believe this grid is the first offering from my colleague reviewer Absolution, who lives across the pond and managed to include a marvellously rich array of thematic material, including YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT and AMITY ISLAND, for which Paul had a lot of fun devising tortuous but humorous thematically related composite anagrams. 

Characters from the original movie made appearances (BRODY and QUINT), as well as oblique references to other shark movies: ‘SANTA  Jaws’, which must be in the running for the worst horror film ever made, and ‘Jaws 3-D’, starring Dennis QUAID, which has a particular resonance for us all, of course. How clever is that! Finally, STEVEN SPIELBERG emerged as the significant name from the orange cells.

Personally, I struggled with the cryptic indications for QUAID (LA’s broken) and QUINT (typically, essentially lost) and thought I might have to wait for the Hints and Tips to arrive. Eventually, however, two lightbulb moments occurred:  (L=£=QUID, broken by A)  and QUINT(-essentially). Superb!  

Although I did not need their help this time, I would like to pay tribute to three colleagues (etc, Philostrate and Gin), who provide the Hints and Tips, a uniquely valuable monthly feature of our puzzles and a great support for new and experienced solvers alike. 

Coincidentally, this month, there was also a tribute to ‘Jaws’ in the satirical magazine Private Eye (No 1651) in their Poetry Corner feature by E J Thribb, so I will leave you with this extract:

So, congratulations
Then. Jaws.

You are 50,
And getting a bit long
In the tooth.
But the original film,
Is still razor sharp.

The real horror
Was of course
Jaws 2,
And 3,
And 4.

……………….

This tribute is getting 
Monstrously large,
We’re going to need a 
Bigger poem.
But how to end it?

FIN.

KM

Grid solution

Visual clue

This is a multipart clue. First, fast bowler James Anderson sporting a crossed out O on his shirt gives ANDERS(o)N. The double arrows then tell us to replace ANDERSN with homophones of ‘eye’ and ‘Wye’ (the river passing through Monmouth) in BANDERSNATCH, one of Lewis Carroll’s fabulous beasts from the poem Jabberwocky (“Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun / The frumious Bandersnatch!”).

IY replaces anders(o)n in BandersnATCH = BIYATCH

Background image

The backdrop to this month’s puzzle is a photo by Jean-Paul Zill (public domain) of another Great White, the great white egret, wing outstretched and reflected in the water, looking a little bit (if you squint) like a shark’s jaw.

Clues and explanations

Thematic solutions are indicated with an asterisk.

Day	Solution	Clue	Explanation
1	AGGRO*	7d Trouble in past, girl oddly swallowed (5)	Trouble. GiRl in AGO
2	AMITY ISLAND*	1aw,8ac Off which literary king of the beasts nipped nipper briefly, why one needed destroying, originally (5,6)	Extended definition: ((MIT(e) Y I) in ASLAN + D(estroying)
3	APORT*	10d A vessel banks right — to the other side? (5)	to the other side. A PO[R]T
4	BIYATCH*	22ac Dragon in bikini on vacation meeting yacht at sea (7)	Dragon. B(ikin)I + (YACHT)* Slang term. (Almost) from Brody’s line as he kills the shark.
5	BREWS	22to Said discolouration in tea and coffee etc (5)	tea and coffee etc. Homophone of “bruise”
6	BRODY*	22up Character that’s near to harbour — one attempting to catch fish? (5)	Character. ROD in (to harbour) BY Played by Roy Scheider
7	CHEESE	3ba-2,2d (Big) wheel on the board? (6)	Big cheese / Cheese wheel
8	EDICT	20up Order cited — here (5)	Extended definition. CITED*
9	ENNUI	18up Discontent in the blackness of Camus, no end? (5)	Discontent. EN NUI(t) – French for ‘in the blackness’ (ref. writer Albert Camus)
10	EXTRA*	4aw Just another sunbather, perhaps, exposed web of femme fatale? (5)	Just another sunbather, perhaps. (s)EX TRA(p)Ref. beachgoers in Jaws
11	GRAZE	16up Reportedly, horses eat grass (5)	eat grass. Homophone of “greys”
12	GREAT*	16aw Mammoth in jar, by the sound of it? (5)	Mammoth. Homophone of “grate”
13	HEEDS	2aw Bundle ultimately stashed in shed, used notes (5)	notes. (bundl)E in SHED*
14	HIRED	24up Wassup bloody mercenary? (5)	mercenary. HI RED
15	ICED TEA	6ac A Diet Coke’s not acceptable, horrid drink (4,3)	drink. (A DIET C(ok)E)*
16	NECKING	11ac Foreplay with master of Brummie’s exhibitionists? (7)	Foreplay. NEC KING Ref. National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham
17	OUIJA	14to Unearthly speller certainly needing translation? (5)	Unearthly speller. OUI JA – French and German for ‘yes/certainly’
18	OVERUSE	21ba Hackney’s dropped ‘H’ in artifice near Brighton? (7)	Hackney. (h)OVE RUSE (ref. Brighton and Hove)
19	QUAID*	5aw LA’s broken Hollywood actor (5)	actor. QUID (=L) broken by A Dennis Quaid was the star of Jaws 3-D
20	QUECHUA	5ba Companion boarding train shortly, a Peruvian (7)	Peruvian. CH in QUEU(e) + A
21	QUINT*	5d Hunter typically, essentially lost (5)	Hunter. QUINT(essentially) Played by Robert Shaw.
22	SANTA*	15up Character known for giving a picture with our theme? (5)	Character. Santa Jaws is a film.
23	SIT BY	9d Case of tragedy is unfolding with bachelor taking a dip — choose not to help? (3,2)	choose not to help? B in (T(raged)Y IS)*
24	TACHE	13to Hair, what pet brushed over (5)	Hair. (EH CAT)<
25	TIGRESS	17ba 16aw king ditching an empress finally — lady killer? (7)	lady killer? TIGR(an)ES + (empres)S 16aw = GREAT Ref. Tigranes the Great, ancient king of Armenia
26	TOOTH*	17aw Part into other part of a set (5)	part of a set. Hidden in inTO OTHer
27	UNCLE	19up Fester, say, when filthy, article scrubbed at the rear (5)	Fester, say. UNCLE(an) Ref. Uncle Fester of The Addams Family
28	YOU’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT*	23to,12AC By rage, outboard engine gone, a failing: and replacement required, ergo, guaranteeing one boy catches fish? (5,5,4,1,6,4)	&littish with double wordplay: (BY RAGE, OUTBOARD ENGINE GONE, A)* and DAB (fish) in (ERGO, GUARANTEEING ONE BOY)*Famous line from Brody in Jaws
Required	JAWS	Title (yellow highlights) (4)	Name of film
Required	STEVEN SPIELBERG	Significant name (orange highlights) (6,9)	Director of film

Solvers’ comments

Loved it – a GREAT one to get your teeth into 🙂 [RE]

I’m glad it’s now safe to get back in the water… [NI]

Much enjoyed. Remember the film well, many of the answers reminding me of specific characters and incidents. [MH]

A good puzzle. The theme took a little while to become clear, and we haven’t worked out why the background is a photo of a crane. Some nice clueing though the parsing has escaped us in a couple of cases. The run of new words remains unbroken (hurrah) so all in all an enjoyable outing. Thanks to Paul and Absolution. [CW]

A number of answers I don’t understand, possibly due to my lack of famliarity with the film. I must be one of the dozen people who didn’t see in on release, though I have seen it since, many years ago. [MJ]

Yet another film I’ve never actually watched all the way through 🤫 I solved this lovely puzzle on paper months ago but lost the printed copy while packing to move… so I had the pleasure of solving it twice!! Homophone clues always make me groan a little on the inside, but as a lifelong lover of puns I also sincerely appreciate them. Visual clue had me stumped for ages, so it was extra satisfying when it finally clicked! [MS]

Brilliant puzzle! Paul is one of my favourite setters, and Jaws is such an iconic film, so it makes for a wonderful combination. Many thematically perfect and very funny clues, the best in my view days 28/29, 2, and (classic Paul), 16. [MS]

That was a lot of fun! Liked the theme, with several smiles and groans along the way. The long anagram was instantly guessable but still entertaining, Enjoyed unravelling the parsing for AMITY ISLAND, and QUAID was very devious. Never managed to parse TIGRESS, unfortunately. Not too many obscure words although BIYATCH was unfamiliar as was SANTA JAWS – it sounds truly awful so hopefully will remain that way! The picture clue baffled me, as always! Thanks to Paul and everyone else involved. [JC]

One of the most memorable film one-liners ever! Fab stuff, enjoyed it lots. [SC]

fun to do [RC]

This puzzle was much more difficult than those of the previous months, especially since I have never seen the film. [RE]

Lovely puzzle, thanks [JT]

Something to really get one’s teeth into. [RP]

The theme was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed cracking this one. Has it really been fifty years since we were enthralled by those dreadfully hammy special effects and that haunting soundtrack? Thanks to Paul and Absolution [JA]

Some new words. btw Jaws still scares me. [KD]

I haven’t seen the film myself, but Google supplied the necessary information. Thanks to Paul and Absolution for a very entertaining puzzle. [RS]

Never seen it! Honest. But I do know one line … [PA]

Paul is great, as always. [KH]

😎A fine puzzle around a breathtaking movie. A classic. [DM]

Another educational and highly enjoyable exercise, thank you, [SF]

Working out the theme might have been easier than it should have been because we were listening to Into the Sharkiverse on Radio 4 as we completed this month’s very enjoyable crossword. Necking was amusing. [DR]

Another enjoyable puzzle, a couple of words new to me, and with the help of google for the gaps in my general knowledge! [SB]

Enjoyable puzzle – solving helped by the fact that the theme in the yellow squares fell easily. [JB]

Great theme, 2 answers unsure of, let’s give it a whirl… [SB]

Was it really that long ago? Lots of theme words fitted in. I know I have an incorrect answer but I can’t find what it is! [PD]

A well-designed and well-clued puzzle worthy of this series. I was pleased, and somewhat surprised, to get the long anagram quite early on, bearing in mind I knew hardly anything of the subject matter of the theme apart from that familiar quote. (My last three clues to solve were thematic ones.) Congratulations to Paul and Absolution. [AB]

Really enjoyed this lovely puzzle, thanks Paul and Absolution [GW]

The theme lurked ominously out of reach for a while! [JC]

Tough this month, glad we could guess some thematic answers and fit them to their clues. [J&JH]

Was struggling with this one until the last clue when it all fell into place, which was nice. Still don’t understand day 4 clue though… [MD]

Day 4 raised an eyebrow [RS]

Really enjoyed this, particularly as I remember buying & reading the novel while still at school (voluntarily), which is a rarity for me! Don’t recall reading any other books! Then I had to watch the film at a local cinema (now a bar) as soon as it was released. Thanks for the memory👌👨🏼‍🦯‍➡️ [MN]

Absolution, the setter, here. I hope people enjoyed the theme of the famous movie, other dangerous animal and shark movies, and summer recreation. This was made in the hopes that it would be printed for my partner Tammie’s birthday (and the anniversary of her favorite film). Fortunately, it made into this year’s calendar. I am delighted and honored to have made the cut. Unfortunately, she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly shortly before I submitted this to the World Championship a year and a half ago. I’m glad I finished this before then so it could be published and dedicated to her, and I hope it’s well-received by solvers. [Indeed it was! – Ed] [AB]

I usually tremble when I see Paul’s name as setter but I thought he was quite kind in this one. Don’t get the parsing of Days 19 or 22, otherwise clear and doable. Afraid I hardly ever get Mr. Paul’s drawing, though! Thanks to Paul and Absolution (great name!). [JS]

Very enjoyable and witty, lots of successful puns [EF]

Excellent [RL]

Great puzzle and theme – some very tricky clueing with thematic surfaces. I really enjoyed solving it though still some parsing to be explained! Thanks to all [BS]

Excellent [RG]

Lots of fun – is that a pangram? [Almost. Only F is missing. – Ed] [JG]

Have I really managed to avoid this film for 50 years? [MM]

A tricky solve, as to be expected from Paul! Even when though the theme was soon clear, there were some interesting links to other related films. Not sure if I got all the correct spellings, however… [SB]

Too scared to see the film but enjoyed the crossword. [JM]

There seemed to be a lot of theme related answers. I think I got most of the picture, but no idea who the bowler is. [JC]

Got me to watch Jaws which did not disappoint! Some nice clues, particularly liked the “unearthly speller” and “mammoth in jar”. Biyatch was a bit of a stretch both as a word and a clue. Got me looking up whether there was a medieval creature called a braholy lol. [BR]

Loved this, fun and satisfying to solve. Thank you! [DB]

Some clues I really liked and a good theme but overall the clues just weren’t my vibe I don’t think. [HM]

A fun puzzle though struggled to find bi yacht despite the clear clue and still not sure about Santa. [HH]