No blank grid, clues and pdf this time – just the bitmap below, for reasons that should be clear.
Crosswords are ‘clickbait’, it’s said, which can be a bit of a curse. They’re difficult to monetise themselves, but if they’re a newspaper’s loss-leader and get site visitors clicking through to the other more overtly lucrative parts of the site, then there’s a danger that the contribution of the crossword may be overlooked. There again the statement: “I’m sorry, PM, but people are only interested in your dalliance with the porn star after they’ve tried the crossword’ might not be the most hopeful of positions.
Anyway, it’s always possible to advertise. The Church Times has a sponsored ‘jotter’ beside the paper puzzle – a small ad, with a larger blank space below. The FT download of its puzzle also has a jotter, mostly unsponsored when I’ve checked. (God and Mammon seem to be in each other’s territories.) And then there’s the Independent from 2003.
As I remember it, we were told to include a given word or phrase in a given puzzle and clue it as we always would, and then something unusual would happen. So while we don’t do advertising here, brace yourself for the exception. I suppose I should add: ‘Other beverages are available’.
Solution
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