Crossword 777 answers and explanations

Variations on a theme

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14th July, 2012

You might detect something of a musical theme in this puzzle. It was just a whim, a bit of a personal challenge. I begin composing puzzles with themes quite often but can rarely sustain them and so they disappear. Some British setters are very devoted to themes. The most accomplished of them work at the tough end of the crossword market where hard words and high-flown general knowledge – a familiarity with the works of Dryden or Milton for example – give these setters a very broad vocabulary to choose from. Their puzzles often use multiple cross references, so that getting a grip on ...

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