1 2 3 4 5 6
7
8 9
10 11
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13 14 15 16
17
18 19 20
21 22
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24 25
SE
R C I
T E H
T C A
AB
AS
CT
DE
IN
IL
IT
LF
MU
RT
SS
UM
couplets
LETTERS
heads or tails
Write the listed pairs of letters into the
circles so that each line running through the
central circle produces a six-letter word.
Solve this puzzle by selecting either the first or last letter of each
word of the clue to spell a new word. As an example, the C, U and P
you find in the clue ‘Cook ugly kelp’ would give you the answer CUP.
ACROSS
1 Cook ugly kelp (3)
3 Diners train bistro people soon (5)
7 Bureau says everything (3)
8 Abel shooting lame duck (4)
10 Too angry for dessert (4)
11 Mad over hat (3)
12 Ants disturb ostrich vehicle race (5)
13 Mia ambushed butcher (3)
15 Nice white wine (3)
17 Unsure when rabbi offers melon (5)
18 Found in negligee (3)
19 Bluff once ace revealed (4)
21 Pain after initial fall (4)
23 All in, Steve (3)
24 Four inches over the lines (5)
25 Discover outdoor grotto (3)
DOWN
1 Basic underwear shook
Tony off helium (6)
2 Group asks impertinent favour (4)
4 Take one aside (3)
5 Selina utters rabid
diatribe every dawn (6)
6 Flapjack throne proven corrupt (4)
9 Feeling rotten on mildew lawn (5)
12 Ella lost bikini bottoms instantly (5)
14 Robert unlocks nothing
when Julie returns (6)
16 Wild inside after Ali won gold (6)
18 Drunk uncles smell ideal (4)
20 We obey every command (4)
22 Call blue cat (3)
In each sentence below, your task is to delete
exactly half the letters to reveal the name of a
famous person. You do not need to rearrange the
letters at all. To help you along, we can tell you the
hidden names, in no particular order, are of a Broadway
star, a director, a TV presenter and a pop singer.
1 Smackdown snack
2 Skis are lost by chefs and novices
3 Table state in middle room
4 Smarter to win after scores reset
WORDMAK ER
Using all the letters on the left, see how many
words of three or more letters, including one nine-
letter word, you can make. Each letter can only be used
once in making a word and every word must contain
the centre letter. This puzzle’s target: 79 words
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Solutions start on page 151
star finder
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145