This edition contains hints and tips for both the September and August Extra puzzles.

Clues and Grid by Shark

The background for this puzzle is a posterised black and white Graham Fox photograph showing two bicycles.

The 5x5x7 grid celebrates the 75^th anniversary of the birth of 5ac 13ac (“the star”) and also a 30^th anniversary later this year.

Twenty answers must have the same thematic letter inserted or removed before entry (10 of each). A further three answers need a two-letter thematic abbreviation inserted before entry. Both abbreviations are contained in the star’s stage surname. The clues indicate the number of letters before adjustment, so it is straightforward to determine which clues are of each type. Note that the insertion or removal can happen at the beginning or the end of the word. The adjusted entries are all still words.

After completing the grid, solvers must replace the star’s stage name with his birth name (both forename and surname are 7 letters in each case). All the amended entries are real words or names. It is these final grid entries that need to be submitted.

There are two highlighted words. The six red cells running from top left in the top layer to bottom right in the middle layer only give a word in the final grid. The five blue cells running towards on the top layer give a name in the original grid, but a word in the final grid. Solvers should submit the red word followed by the most appropriate possible of the blue word (this is also a five-letter word, and is also associated with both the abbreviations used to adjust answers before entry).

After solving each Day the answer may change once or sometimes twice before reaching the final entries that should be submitted. Firstly twenty three of the answers have to be adjusted by the insertion or removal of a one or two letter abbreviation. This adjustment changes the length of the entry. Secondly, the star’s stage name should be changed to the star’s birth name. This will amend fourteen of the entries (without changing their length).

Our hints are to the original solutions to the clues for certain days, but we indicate where these entries will have to be (adjusted) or [amended] prior to submission.

Mama mia, mama mia! Solvers may think such an intricate construction very, very frightening, but they should carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters. Anyone can see Shark has put together a regal quicksilver puzzle. Magnifico!

Day 4

Mamma heads for Barcelona reversing direction (6)

Almost misleading referring to the theme but you are looking for the ‘heads’ of Barcelona reversing followed by a direction to give you a synonym for Mamma. (Needs thematic letter removal before entry) [JJP]

Day 5

Correspond with aluminium pen (6)

Abbreviation of the first word followed by a chemical symbol. Bad news for Nevada’s wild ones. (Needs thematic letter removal before entry) [GS]

Day 7

Beginning French? (4)

This is a very naughty clue. This is not French as in the language but French as a surname. Ah yes, the sun slowly rises. (Needs thematic letter addition before entry) [GS]

Day 9

Removes periods, apostrophe and colons … finally! (6)

Clever use of different punctuation marks, but they don’t all work in the same way. Finally indicates that we want some final letters, but only of the last two punctuation words. Before that we need a word meaning periods, but not full stops. We might expect removes to be part of the wordplay, but here it is the definition. (Needs thematic letter removal before entry) [This entry is further amended by the final name change] [N&SI]

Day 21

Keeps parting foot steps (6)

A word for keeps, parting (inside) a word for foot (from latin) gives you steps. (Needs thematic letter addition before entry) [JJP]

Day 23

Without limits, foolishly talk shop (3)

An old word indicating to talk in a silly way about nothing in particular. This amounts to five letters and requires pruning to get back to the solution needed, namely to give away information about somebody. (This is one of the three that need the two letter thematic addition) [This entry is further amended by the final name change] [GS]

Day 26

Film about cracking 10’s problem (4)

You’re looking for a word for a problem that the answer to 10 might address. Add in an abbreviation for about to give another word for film. (Needs thematic letter addition before entry) [This entry is further amended by the final name change] [JJP]

Day 28

Cathartic Queen’s downed? (5)

Here we need the name of a plant used in the making of a laxative. The solution as indicated is entered ‘up’ but reading down also gives us the name of a Queen of Great Britain and allow a little licence with the apostrophe s. (This is one of only eight clues whose solution is entered directly in the grid without any additions or subtractions) [GS]

Day 30

Without record in advance, thematic rhapsody arguably is so long (4)

Look for a short word meaning record in advance. This word appears at the start of a word for a piece of (usually classical) music, which could describe the famous rhapsody by our theme. Remove the short word to leave the answer, which means so long. (Needs thematic letter addition before entry) [N&SI]

Day 31

Money required to house artist school (5)

A slang word for money around an abbreviation for an artist gives you a word for school. (This is one of the three that need the two letter thematic addition) [JJP]

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We are grateful to the other members of the Hints & Tips team: Garry Stripling (Gin) and Jim Pennington (Philostrate), and Alison Ramage & Andre Sonnet (Aramis)

Happy solving!

Nick & Sarah Inglis (etc)

Clues by Sirius and Grid by Komorník

Bonus hints this month for those solving the August Extra puzzle.

Day 1

Sounds like the skipper’s crew is beat (7)

Sounds like suggests a homophone. In this case you need the first name of the victorious skipper (last name is Day 30) followed by a word for a (rowing) crew. The answer is a homophone of the pair of words and means beat. Finally, the last three letters of the answer sound like a symbol and should be replace by that symbol in the grid. [N&SI]

Day 4

Game ends in rain – unfortunately acid essentially? (8)

Unfortunately indicates an anagram. We have two letters from game ends and six more from in rain. The unfamiliar answer is an essential amino acid. The last four letters are the name of a symbol, which should replace them before entry. [N&SI]

Day 5

Very small sight screen? What kind of a logic is that? (6)

Another anagram, this time of a logic. The solution is a rather obscure word for very small sight screen in the sense of reduced vision. [N&SI]

Day 14

Everyone bowled over in song about yellow flowers from Keith perhaps (7)

Keith suggests a reference to Keith Fletcher, but Keith is also a town in the North-East of Scotland, so this is a cunning way of indicating that this word for certain yellow flowers is Scottish (one of many obscure Scottish words in Chambers dictionary). Bowled over means we want a reversal of a word for everyone contained in an anagram (about) of song. [N&SI]

Day 17

Too much TMS cake? Obese 13 for example snatches run (5)

This lovely surface leads to a word describing someone who has perhaps overindulged in the cakes famously sent in to TMS. Take the word usually seen before the answer to Day 13 and let it snatch the usual abbreviation for run. [N&SI]

Day 19

Meagre scoring England openers ‘all over the place’ say crowd over northern boundary (5)

All over the place might suggest an anagram, but here it is the definition, according to crowd over northern boundary, which means it is an obscure Scottish word from Chambers dictionary. Look for a short word for meagre followed by the openers of scoring and English. [N&SI]

Day 20

Kind of umpire to drop off maiden between theme club and pad, making London exit (7)

Look for a word used to address a legal umpire and remove the initial maiden. Add the term for the gap between bat and pad (you can get bowled through this). The whole thing was a London exit back when London had a wall. [N&SI]

Day 22

Two painters draw Bond with two dickies and three kippers – a Knotty problem of nerves perhaps? (8)

A very sneaky clue here. We have a list: 2 painters, draw, bond, 2 dickies, 3 kippers. There is a short word that could be represented by painter (in a nautical context), draw, bond, dicky and kipper (the latter two in a sartorial context). Count how many of the same thing that gives, add the plural of our short word and we get a range of larger numbers, notoriously thought to induce nervousness in those batting. The first four letters are the name of a symbol, which should replace them before entry. [N&SI]

Day 25

Final scene played out here or Hove (alt. ground) (3,4)

The final scene was indeed played out here (in front of a baby elephant and some famous gas holders). The answer is a ground, but ground here indicates an anagram. [N&SI]

Day 26

Exhausted Engineer tried moving setter up the order (5)

Engineer was a famous wicketkeeper/batsman and was at the crease when the final runs were scored. Here we need to engineer tried by moving a single letter for setter up the order to get a word for exhausted [N&SI]

Day 27

Mad driver going Dutch on date with Jack Russell? Shouldn’t happen ____ (2,1,3)

We need a notorious literary mad driver (poop-poop!) and a word for what a Jack Russell is (when it’s not an eccentric wicket-keeper). This gives too many letters, but if the mad driver and the Jack Russell go Dutch on (share) an abbreviation for date, then that brings us down to six letters, which complete the final sentence. Finally, the first two letters of the answer sound like a symbol and should be replace by that symbol in the grid. [N&SI]

Day 29

Like Alan Knott’s binocular view of delivery – too wide of Eknath yet ending disastrously in Primary Club? (3-4)

Fred Trueman always described cricket as a side-on game. The exception are wicket-keepers (like Alan Knott) and this answer describes their view of each delivery. No need to have heard of the opening bowler Eknath Solkar or know that the Primary Club is a cricket raising money for the visually impaired. In this case in Primary Club tells us to look at initial letters of preceding words. The first three letters are the name of a symbol, which should replace them before entry. [N&SI]

Day 30

Victorious captain raked away contentedly after reverse sweep (7)

You’re looking for the surname of the victorious captain here. The reverse sweep was not a familiar stroke at the time of the thematic event. Here sweep suggests hunting in the preceding words and reverse tells us we’ll find our answer the wrong way round. [N&SI]

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Happy solving!

Nick & Sarah Inglis (etc)