August Prospect Generalist

[Otleybard]

Despite not having access to the correct edition of Chambers, I think I've managed to come up with answers to most of the 'single letter' clues that are at least viable.

However, can anyone help me with 10a (B), 27a (N), 5d (F), or 8d (G)? I can't see that providing any more information would be of much use to somebody who hadn't already completed the crossword!

Many thanks in advance
OB

[JoolsTwo]

10a Baron
27a Naira
5d Farad
8d Gabon

[Otleybard]

Thanks, JimJools (what kept you?!?) although your answers mean I'll have to rethink 11a and 22a.

Whoever wins the books this month will certainly have earned them!

Best wishes
OB

[JoolsTwo]

LOL - Which edition of Chambers do you have?

[Otleybard]

Sorry, JimJools, the simple answer is I don't know.

After several years of helping me with difficult crosswords, my Chambers Dictionary finally reacted to being thrown against the wall in frustration by shedding its front cover, which now resides upstairs. I, on the other hand, am presently confined to my bedroom with a pinned fifth metatarsal, similar to David Beckham's but without the attendant media frenzy.

Living in a house that's more down than across and lacking a resident Sherpa means it's advisable to ration my vertical adventures. However, I risked it this afternoon and returned to base camp bearing the breakaway cover. Unfortunately, I discovered that my dictionary had sundered further, after the fashion of the various left-wing factions in the 1970s, with the result that the flyleaf has disappeared (and probably joined the Coalition).

The upshot of this is that the only remaining clues to my dictionary's date of birth are on what remains of its somewhat tattered covers. It claims to be a 'New Edition' - undoubtedly the most superfluous phrase ever to appear on a dictionary - and that it contains 'the richest range of English language from Shakespeare to the present day', which presumably narrows things down to the post-1600s.

My own estimate, if memory serves (and it's failing me so often these days it risks dismissal without a character) is that I acquired the dictionary some time about 1999, or 'last Thursday' as people my age refer to it. It's probably time I forked out for a new one from one of these new-fangled 'online bookshops. Amazon sounds promising, and when one of their warrior maidens turns up she can help me find my flyleaf.

Cheers
OB