Hello bloggers and setters. I’d like to join you, but I’m in Philadelphia and I was just across the pond in Sweden a month ago (I actually was composing the annotation while in the lounge at Heathrow coming home). Maybe some future year.
Dalibor is both an S and a B (whichever way you like to finish them), and he’s provided us with a tidy diversion.
Link to puzzle: https://fifteensquared.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Final-Dalibor-York-2026-handout.pdf
Degree of difficulty: moderate: comparable to a Telegraph prize puzzle. A good warm-up for the S&B crowd.
| Across | ||
| 1a | SPRINGFIELD | Well, life changed dramatically at first for a girl called Dusty |
| SPRING (“well”) + *LIFE (anagram indicated by “changed”) + Dramatically (first letter indicated by “at first”).
Popped the first three in straightaway. |
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| 7a | BOB | Style of overtures from Brahms or Beethoven |
| Brahms Or Beethoven (first letters indicated by “overtures.” | ||
| 9a | AUDIO | Sound of car approaching roundabout? |
| AUDI (“car”) + O (“roundabout”). | ||
| 10a | ENERGISER | Rock singer amidst unopened beer and Red Bull? |
| *SINGER (anagram indicated by “rock”) contained in (“amidst”) bEER (omission of first letter indicated by “unopened”). | ||
| 11a | STEVEDORE | Jobs ultimately saved so far: one, a docker |
| STEVE (“Jobs,” the Apple co-founder) + saveD +sO + faR + onE (last letters indicated by “ultimately.”)
Hopped on this one from the definition. |
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| 12a | SUOMI | “Finland for the Finns” unanimously backed? Only for about 50% |
| <unanIMOUSly< (hidden word indicated by “only for about 50%,” reversal indicated by “backed.”
Easy if you’re an ice hockey fan: the Finns’ sweaters read “Suomi.” |
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| 13a | ORLEANS | False reason to impress large university city |
| *REASON (anagram indicated by “false”) containing (“to impress”) L (“large’).
Took a while to get this one: a lot more cities I would associate with a university first. |
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| 15a | TREE | Perhaps plane’s oddly targeted |
| TaRgEtEd (alternate letters indicated by “oddly”) | ||
| 18a | JAMB | Post-punk rock band listened to |
| ~JAM (“rock band,” homophone indicated by “listened to”).
My LOI: I have a decent GK of music, but hadn’t heard of “The Jam.” |
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| 20a | CHICAGO | Leonard Marx’s welcomed a grand Broadway production |
| CHICO (“Leonard Marx”) containing (“welcomed”) A + G (“grand’).
On the other hand, I nailed this one, recognizing both the third Marx Brother and the 1980s musical. |
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| 23a | OXEYE | Love, kiss, look for a flower |
| O (“love”) + X (“kiss”) + EYE (“look”). | ||
| 24a | FLASHBACK | Expose your body’s rear part – that has happened before |
| FLASH (“expose your body”) + BACK (“rear part”). | ||
| 26a | ALICE BAND | Girl group that might be in shock |
| ALICE (“girl”) + BAND (“group”).
We don’t use that term for a headband in the US, but it you solve cryptics, you’ve seen it before. |
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| 27a | BEECH | Wood, English conductor, taking off time before noon |
| BEECHam (“English conductor,” removal of AM (“before noon”) indicated by “taking off”). | ||
| 28a | ONE | 1, 2, then 3, finally |
| twO theN threE (final letters indicated by “finally”). | ||
| 29a | SPONSORSHIP | Backing of posh prisons abandoned |
| *POSH PRISONS (anagram indicated by “abandoned”). | ||
| Down | ||
| 1d | SNAPSHOT | Bridges pulled up in what takes just one click? |
| <SPANS< (“bridges,” reversal indicated by “pulled up”) + HOT (“in”). | ||
| 2d | REDBELLY | Fish, wine and bread basket |
| RED (“wine”) + BELLY (“breadbasket”). | ||
| 3d | NO ONE | Not a soul singer who made his name as Herman |
| §NOONE (Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits).
Got this one easily because I’ve listened to Noone’s satellite radio program. What’s your favorite Hermits’ song? |
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| 4d | FLEXORS | Rough sex for about a pound, showing some muscles |
| *SEX FOR (anagram indicated by “rough”) containing (“about”) L (“pound”). | ||
| 5d | ELEMENT | He is one but she is not |
| Cyptic definition: He is the symbol for the element helium.
Great clue: the penny dropped with a clang! |
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| 6d | DE GASPERI | French painter’s got the spirit to become an antifascist |
| DEGAS (“French painter”) + PERI (“spirit”).
The painter was easy, but I had to guess at the rest, not knowing the Italian PM or “peri.” |
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| 7d | BOSTON | Lincolnshire town’s fairly good promotion ditched after review |
| <NOT SO Bad< (“fairly good,” omission of AD (“promotion”) indicated by “ditched,” reversal indicated by “after review”) | ||
| 8d | BERLIN | Black magician sending maiden off in 18th century carriage |
| B (“black”) + mERLIN (“magician,” omission of M (“maiden”) indicated by “sending off”).
Use the force, Luke… ‡ |
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| 14d | AWARENESS | Having knowledge of a conflict with A Capone’s nemesis |
| A + WAR (“conflict”) + E NESS (federal agent Elliot Ness, “A[l] Capone’s nemesis). | ||
| 16d | NAZARETH | Extremists in Tehran demolished Middle Eastern town |
| AZ (“extremists) contained in (“in”) *TEHRAN (anagram indicated by “demolished”) | ||
| 17d | BOOKSHOP | Waterstones disapproves of hard work over the weekend? |
| BOOS (“disapproves of”) + H (“hard”) + OP (“work”–opus) containing weeK (last letter indicated by “end.”
Luke makes a return, since I didn’t know the bookseller chain. Nice tidy rebus with a “lift and separate.” |
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| 19d | BUFFALO | Polish opera singer spending time in lakeside city |
| BUFF (“polish”) + ALtO (“opera singer,” omission of T (“time” indicated by “spending”).
“Opera” is arguably superfluous. |
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| 20d | CSARDAS | Traditional dance game interrupted by South American on two separate occasions |
| CARDS (“game”) containing (“interrupted by”) S (“south”), and A (American) in two different places (“on two occasions”).
Another new one for me: it’s a Hungarian folk dance. I suspect I wasn’t alone in trying to fit SA into something. |
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| 21d | MONACO | Across the Channel my old accountant promoted a tax haven |
| MON (“my” translation to French indicated by “across the Channel”) + O + AC (“accountant,” preceding the O indicated by “promoted). | ||
| 22d | VENICE | Place on the Adriatic’s really enjoyable but not extremely really |
| VEry NICE (“really enjoyable,” omission of (“not”) RY (“really,” first and last letters indicated by “extremely”)) . | ||
| 25d | HABER | Nobel Prize winner from Hungary (but German) |
| H (“Hungary”) + ABER (“but,” translation to German indicated by “German”)
Needed help with this one: Fritz Haber won the chemistry Nobel for finding a method for synthesis of ammonia, and I didn’t know the German word for “but.” |
Legend: “*” anagram; “~” sounds like; “<“ letters reversed; “( )” letters inserted; “_” or lower case: letters deleted; “†” explicit in the clue, “^” first or last letter or letters, “{“ relocated letter or letters; “§” heteronym, “/” letters exchanged, “¶” letter bank.
‡–“Use the force, Luke” is what I’ll say when answer is obscure but the wordplay is obvious. Trust your instinct on the wordplay.