"A young spring-tender ????
combed her joyous hair
'You are very ugly' said the mirror."

From "Mirror, Mirror" by Spike Milligan

18 Across: ????/----/-/-----/-------/ (4,1,5,7) (Name - painting by JV)


Solvers’ Tally
Jools 5D, 13A, 22A, 4A (4)
Straycat 1D, 28A, 14D, 24A (4)
RabidWolff of the Wolf Pack 10A (1)

Information

If choosing a three-letter clue – please choose another one as well, see instructions at top of board.

Please observe the four-hour rule - see top of board for info

The three mystery bonus words in this puzzle all have seven letters, and the colours are pink, blue and grey
Each clue will start with a quote from a poem whose author and title I shall provide. The quote will have a word missing which shall be indicated by the same number of question marks (queries) as the number of letters in the missing word.

However, the missing word is not the answer to the clue, but it will help you solve the clue. You might know the quote already, or you may be able to guess the missing word, but in most cases you will probably have to source the quote.

There are three types of clue:

Phrase – For this type of clue the missing word in the poem will form part of a phrase, which might be a compound word or a “thing”, or it may be a saying such as “goodness me”
Here is an example of how this type of clue will be set out:
The poetry quote (with the missing word) will be under the grid:
e.g.
The boy stood on the burning ????
Whence all but him had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck
Shone round him o'er the dead.”
From “Casabianca” by Felicia Hemans
The clue would be written thus:
1 Across: /????-----/ (5) (Phrase – “thing”)
You probably wouldn’t have to look this poem up as it is so well-known, and you would know that the missing word is “deck”. The clue gives the actual answer in the form of dashes /-----/ In this case the word is chair – as in deckchair. You only need give the answer to the clue – and not the missing word (or words) from the poem.

Name - This type of clue is the same as the “Phrase” type of clue, except that the missing words in the poem form part of a name – it could be the title of a book, the name of a famous person or the name of a film or place. Anything that would be classed as a “proper noun”

e.g.
“???? looks down at her organdy skirt
As if it somehow were the thing disgraced,
For being there, on the floor, in the dirt”
From “Bertram’s Garden” by Donald Justice
The clue would be written thus:
5 Down: ????/----/ (4) (Name – novel by CB)

You would probably have to look up this quote, and would find the missing word is “Jane”. The clue says that the missing word forms part of a novel title, so you would need to work out that the novel is Jane Eyre – the answer to the clue is Eyre (by Charlotte Bronte, of course) – if it is a well-known “name” such as the above, I might only give the author’s initials. If it is less well-known I might give more information.

Synonym - This clue is simply a synonym for the missing word.
e.g.
“Waste pipes ??????? into runnels,
Steam's escaping here and there,
Morning trains through Camden cutting
Shake the Crescent and the Square”
From “Business Girls” by John Betjeman
The clue would be written thus:

14 Across: Synonym (5)

The missing word here is “chuckle”, and the answer is “laugh” which is a synonym for “chuckle”. The synonym might not be in the same sense of the word as it is in the poem. It is certainly a novel use of the word “chuckle” in this poem.

But some words also have more than one meaning e.g. “lay” can mean to set down (the synonym might be more than one word), but the missing word in the poem might be /---/Preacher, which is a non-clerical preacher.
Please could the solver state which clue they would like next

Extra clues may be given if necessary – often in the form of extra letters in the answer, or it could be an alternative synonym if it is a “synonym” clue.

A solvers’ tally will be kept, and the top three solvers will be awarded a crossword token apiece

Any questions, please ask