I didn’t realise that Twin’s first Listener was back in 2017. Since then he has had pretty much one a year, including two wins of the Ascot Gold Cup (Tip-top Condition in 2020 and Singles Only in 2022). He was also one of the five finalists in last year’s Times Crossword Championship.
This week’s puzzle had a straightforward extra word in every clue, the initial letters of which would spell out how a second grid could be formed plus an instruction relating to both grids. I guessed that anagrams might be the technique or, heaven forfend, jumbles!
1ac Utopia’s sad, not ending, and cruel space (6) HEAVEN [HEAV(y) + EN] and 6ac Morbid airs turned teamster’s heart, losing eye — when? (7) MIASMAS [((tea)MS(ter) + AIM)< + AS] got got me off to a good start. Of course, I was worried that neither HEAVEN nor MIASMAS had an obvious anagram! I must admit that I usually prefer to tackle solving without trying to second-guess what the setter has in mind until I hit a brick wall.
I was therefore pretty please that Twin was being generous with his clueing, and a large chunk of the grid was finished in just over an hour, the bottom right-hand corner being somewhat recalcitrant. Not expecting etacisms to have an anagram, and the sheer gobbledygook of 21dn Cantabrigian’s hits daunt rebuffed Wada (4) didn’t help.
Favourite clues were 12ac Eccentric youngster, extracting fungi, eats unshelled lamellibranch (6) for OYSTER (loved the wordplay), 24ac Toyland hero unloads dry Lego sporadically (5) for NODDY (memories of my childhood) and Comedian’s Eh O? Wha’s Loony? (4) for SHWA (you what!!).
And so the initial letters of extra words gave us Clue initials other than these and Highlight unchanged cells. Obviously, the first letters of all the clues didn’t reveal anything but, luckily, it didn’t take me long to check the initial letters of each clue’s words, apart from the extras, and a broad grin crossed my face. They spelt out words that could slot into the same grid and make a brand spanking new one with MATTHEW TWENTY FOUR, THIRTY FIVE being five of the new entries. Reaching for my Bible (given to every pupil in my school way back when) gave “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
Creating the new grid and highlighting cells that were the same in both gave the last six words in a diamond shape. HEAVEN AND EARTH in the original grid were also there for good measure.
Another incredible puzzle from Twin — great idea, fantastic gridding and phenomenal clueing. Should I have sussed it out sooner?! Possibly, but it wouldn’t have helped me get home any sooner.
Full clue analysis can be found at the Listener Crossword website.
The moment (PDM) when I realised that the initial letters of all the words in the clues (minus the extra words) spelled out real words in a second grid including the verse reference for the common letters between the two grids was jaw dropping for me. I’ve kept an eye out for Twin since the Guardian Genius 257 last year as I thought that was a tour de force of setting, but this surpasses it. If I hadn’t written so much I’d say I was lost for words.