Starting in the upper left corner and
running clockwise around the perimeter, are the unclued names of an English
poet laureate (A) and two of his works (B and C). Two more works by this poet
within the grid have wordplay and flimsy definitions.
Across
8. Shower of small shot? That could be the real limit! (9)
9. Drop clumsy sort trapped by crazy glue. (7)
11. Two New England states ending with an “a” and verse! (7)
13. With regard to an awful day - be prepared. (5)
15. Amount to turn into Greek letters. (3)
18. Old-fashioned and shy around nurse. (5)
19. Old toll on goods from Scotland, at all? Gee, there’s no end to it! (7)
20. Adds up is completely slang. (5)
21. Has not (in Spencer’s day) a pair of elements. (3)
22. A word in French, if it’s a dominant theme. (5)
23. Grumbled that bird slaughtered on “Glorious Twelfth”, meets with a dead end. (7)
25. Awkward and strange half of Duluth. (7)
27. Most noisy Arab instrument? Sell it, somehow, outside. (9)
29. NW American shrub, Erie Canal mule and “weird” U.S. musician. (5)
Down
2. Swallowed up lowest Japanese class member. (3)
3. Mine safety guy? Maybe it’s Mr. Ambient. (9)
4. Part of insect’s thorax, but without a stomach. (5)
5. Aye, it’s the same but different. (3)
6. The kakapo - one bird or two? (9)
10. Grant Joyce associations to poet. (7)
12. Class microphone describes acid from a certain grape. (7)
14. It’s sometimes used to make a pitch for a trust buster. (9)
16. “Grape” is the ultraviolet answer! (3)
17. Hairy primate to settle illegally in centre of Salvation Army church. (9)
24. Cheerless daughter gets back. (5)
26. A bit of sun? Literally in the dark! (5)
28. On either side the river ---
Notes
E-mail your solutions of The Very Logical Prize
Puzzle No. 415 by the closing date of 4 p.m. (EST) on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, to
mailto:johnnolan755@gmail.com.
The prize is a signed cartoon
by Stephanie, or, if you prefer and live in the U.S.***, a Strip T’s shirt.
Solutions can also be mailed to John Nolan, 27
River Road, Farmington, NH, 03835.
Most answers, except proper names, appear in
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition and/or The Chamber’s
Dictionary, revised 13th edition. In this "British-style"
crossword, punctuation marks in clues are best ignored, as a rule. The
answer to 27 Ac. is an archaic form found in Wiktionary and elsewhere.
The solution to The Very Logical Prize Puzzle
No. 415 along with the name of the winner, and everyone else submitting correct
solutions, will be published on this site towards the end of August.
***P.S. The cost of mailing one T-shirt
overseas has (not to mention tariffs) quadrupled in recent years and is now
over $24 a pop, effectively killing the trade of small businesses like Strip
T’s.
The drawn winner, from a star-studded host of entrants, is Randy Taylor, of nearby Rochester, NH. We'll hunt in the barn tomorrow, Randy, and try to find a fitting t-shirt - or, otherwise a cartoon.
Other solvers sharing the Hat this month, include Chris Rogers of Farmington, and Rochester residents Julie Lindsay, and Jim & Joanne Gray, all of New Hampshire; Leslie Yonce of Richmond, Virginia Brenner of Elmhurst, Ill; Tom Wilson of South Williamsport, Pa., Jay Miller of Pasadena, Calif.; Rich Pardoe of Houston, Texas; and Tamara Brenner of Elmhurst, Ill
From England, solvers include William Stewart of Leicester, Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, Derek Harrison of Pegswood, and Chris Chatwin from Kenilworth; Ian Simpson of Edinburgh, Scotland; and Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali;
Coming ever so close were Larry Reynolds of Rochester and Carol Williams of Texas (or Maine) & Laura Bradford of Florida.
If someone is missing from the honor roll, above, please let me know....my brain is a bit addled from several hours in the garden, picking stuff.
Below is a pic taken by Stephanie a few days ago, from our deck at 4 p.m. in the afternoon, with River Road as a backdrop. It got yelled at and grudgingly shuffled off back into the woods with a cake of suet.
Thank you all very much, for the entries, and I hope you enjoy TVLPP 415, above.
Notes
Puzzle enthusiasts are encouraged to visit http://www.crossword.org.uk/ Derek Harrison's resource website for challenging puzzles, links, tools, newsletter, and much besides.
Keith Williams, who has generously assumed stewardship of the Crossword Club, writes: The second Crossword Club collection (Onwards and Upwards) is now available from Amazon. Visit www.thecrossword.club for more info.
No. 120 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 121 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 122 - Don Parent of Hanover, Maine, USA
No. 123 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 124 - Karen Muller of Kohimarama, Auckland, NZ
No. 125 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 126 - Joan Bittrolff, Somersworth, New Hampshire, USA
No. 127 - Not posted (stress and pressure of vacation)
No. 128 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 129 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 130 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 131 - Joan Bittrolff, Alford, Florida, USA
No. 132 - Slipped through cracks due to computer crisis
No. 133 - Karen Muller of Meadowbank, Auckland, NZ
No. 134 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 135 - Don Parent of Hanover, Maine, USA
No. 136 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 137 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 138 - Don Parent of Hanover, Maine, USA
No. 139 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 140 - Bonnie & Kevin Bergeron, Rochester, NH, USA
No. 141 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 142 - Karen Cleary of St. Johns Park, Auckland, NZ
No. 143 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 144 - Veronique Bonnet, Rodez, France
No. 145 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 146 - Huguette Simmonds of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 147 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 148 - Pierre Gaillard, Olemps, France
No. 149 - Reynir Axelsson, Mosfellsbaer, Iceland
No. 150 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 151 - Régine Privet, Naucelle, France
No. 152 - Don Parent of Hanover, Maine, USA
No. 154 - Joan Bittrolff, Alford, Florida, USA
No. 155 - Condell Lovell Simmons of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 156 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 157 - Karen Cleary of St. Johns Park, Auckland, NZ
No. 158 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 159 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 160 - Sylvie Chauchard of Belmont Sur Rance, , France
No. 161 - Carl E. Damuth of Wells, Maine, USA
No. 162 - Yvette Gaillard of Olemps, Rodez, France
No. 163 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 164 - Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali, Indonesia
No. 165 - Keith Simmonds of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 166 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 167 - Joan Bittrolff of Alford, Florida, USA
No. 168 - Betty Bardy of Albi, France
No. 169 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 170 - Bonnie & Kevin Bergeron, Rochester, NH, USA
No. 171 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 172 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 173 - Barbara Winter of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 174 - Nancy Moony Hebert of Alton, NH, USA
No. 175 - Jim Gaudet of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 176 - Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, England
No, 177 - Karen Cleary of St. Johns Park, Auckland, NZ
No. 178 - Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali, Indonesia
No. 179 - James O. Horrigan, Portsmouth, NH, USA
No. 180 - David Simmonds of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 182 - Madeleine Dupierre of Rodez, France.
No. 183 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 184 - Jim Siirola of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
No. 185 - James O. Horrigan, Portsmouth, New HH, USA
No. 187 - Joan Bittrolff of Alford, Florida, USA
No. 188 - Natalie Ryder, Bremen, Georgia, USA
No. 189 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 190 - Héloïse Bonnet of Rodez, France
No. 191 - Jim Gaudet of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 192 - Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali, Indonesia
No. 193 - Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, England
No. 194 - Hugutte R.-M. Simmonds, Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 195 - Terry Towle, Strafford, New Hampshire, USA
No. 196 - Vidya Singh of Sidcup, Kent, England
No. 197 - Jim Sempsrott, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
No. 198 - Condell Lovell Simmons of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 199 – T. Metzger, C. Williams, L. Bradford, Westport Maine
No. 200 - Norbert Bonnet of Rodez, France
No. 201 - Barbara Bierweiler of Ossipee, NH, USA
No. 202 - Paul Nyack of West Broomfield, Michigan, USA
No. 203 - James O. Horrigan, Portsmouth, NH, USA
No. 204 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 205 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 206 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 207 - Wayne Maricheau of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 208 - Mark Nichols of Rugby, Warwickshire, England
No. 209 - Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, England
No. 210 - Jim Sempsrott, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
No. 211 - Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali, Indonesia
No. 212 - Joan Bittrolff of Alford, Florida, USA
No. 213 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 214 - Keith Simmonds of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 215 - Ian Laming, Chippingham, Wiltshire, England
No. 216 - James O. Horrigan, Portsmouth, NH, USA
No. 217 - Jim Siirola of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
No. 218 - Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, England
No. 219 - Annie Bonnet of Rodez, France
No. 220 - Veronique Bonnet, Images, France
No. 221 - Eddie Looby, Longbridge, Birmingham, England
No. 222 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 223 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 224 - Mark Nichols of Rugby, Warwickshire, England
No. 225 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
No. 226 - Hugest Simmonds, Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 227 - Joan Bittrolff of Alford, Florida, USA
No. 228 - David Nash, Coleford, Gloucestershire, England
No. 229 - Jim Sempsrott, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
No. 230 - Condell L. Simmons of Tunapuna, West Indies
No. 231 - Barbara Bierweiler of Ossipee, NH, USA
No. 232 - Eddie Looby, Longbridge, Birmingham, England
No. 233 - Calfan Dary of Anggabaya, Bali, Indonesia
No. 234 – T. Metzger/L. Bradford of Topsham, Maine, USA
No. 235 - Barbara Trow of Dover, New Hampshire, USA
No. 236 - Jim Siirola of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
No. 237 - Keith Williams of Kings Worthy, England
No. 238 - Philippe Bonnet of Rodez, France
No. 239 - Nancy Mooney Hebert of Palm Bay, Florida, USA
No. 240 - Mark Nichols of Rugby, Warwickshire, England
No. 241 - David Simmonds of Crawford, Dart ford, England
No. 242 - Chris Rogers of Farmington, New Hampshire, USA
No. 243 - Eddie Looby, Longbridge, Birmingham, England
No. 244 - Jim Sempsrott, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
No. 245 - Joan Bittrolff of Alford, Florida, USA
No. 246 - Pat Mathews of Berwick, Maine, USA
No. 247 - Veronique Bonnet, Rodez, France
No. 186 - Randy Taylor of Rochester, New Hampshire, USA
