Times 24,211

[crockshard]

Did anyone else find yesterday's more difficult than usual ,or was it just me? I struggled to complete it, but could not let it defeat me!

[kayakamina]

I thought the Mozart clue 21d was a bit unfair otherwise reasonably straightforward.

[crockshard]

Yeah, never did work out where the 'KI' came from in that one. But there were others in which I didn't really understand the clues - eg 24a 'Contract, a woman will put together, securing small boat' : answer, small boat = 'cockleshell': c = contract, a woman will= she'll;'ockle' = ?(what in the clue? ). And 22d 'Bad luck some peoople bring': I first assumed 'voodoo' but couln't make sense of it so made a guess at 'hoodoo' and found it in the dictionary (more like a Mephisto clue!). Maybe it was just me yesterday, but I don't normally reckon on spending more than an hour on a mid-week crossword, and this one took me somewhat longer!!

[crockshard]

Have worked out the 'K-one' in the Mozart clue now. But a puzzle is never really solved unless you understand all the elements!