Example of a medium level crossword

Across

• 7. Bright partnership of 6 + 6 before start of day (5)
• 8. What to do when you hook the right man a short time after uphill struggle (4, 3, 2)
• 10. Everyday law and there’s one in Tooting (6)
• 11. Handcuff the wee couple (8)
• 12. Tie after kiss makes a special wedding gift for her (8)
• 13. and 15 No two-bore shotgun at the wedding but still managed this (4, 7)
• 17. Strikes from work in ice cream manufacturer (7)
• 20. Requests 15 with no head (4)
• 22. Crossing the line when under pressure – that’s what constitutes effort (2, 2, 1, 3)
• 25. Pretender, I claim to be the ‘Save-the-Day’ blow-up (8)
• 26. Burble on about breakfast treat (6)
• 27. Funnily enough Vangelis has a point about wedding venue (9)
• 28. Type of game to play if you’re feeling dull by the sound of it (5)

Down

• 1. Prehistoric beast with a big nose strangely scared in love (9)
• 2. Sounds like someone who can divide 22 by 7 provides wedding picnic fare (8)
• 3. Champers, shampoo or confetti (7)
• 4. Abraham, in trouble, gets left inside Spanish palace (8)
• 5. Superior penalties before time (6)
• 6. Crooked 24 for an abundance of fruit (5)
• 9. Muddled start of ancient civilisation (4)
• 14. What 12 might contain – they write 7 in the dark (9)
• 16. What you might do with inhibitions on the dance floor, especially after finishing 13, 15 (4, 4)
• 18. Exercise performed by French every four years? (8)
• 19. Set out around centre of Cagliari on a clear moonless night (7)
• 21. Canoodles with the Welsh love version (6)
• 23. Shout about what sounds like a special wedding gift for him (4)
• 24. What people do when they’re happy for miles around (5)

Solution

Here is the completed grid with an explanation of the first few answers. In this example, the highlighted key words were provided as relevant to the wedding for which the crossword was a 1st Anniversary present.

Across

• 7. Roman numeral for 6 (VI) twice followed by first letter of ‘day’, making the ‘handle’ of the married couple (from Vikki and David) and a synonym of bright.
• 8. Anagram of ‘uphill’ followed by ‘min’ – abbreviation of minute.
• 10. Synonym of ‘everyday’, also a type of law and the location of the married couple – Tooting Common.
• 11. ‘Handcuff’ a popular synonym for ‘bracelet’, e.g. in US police TV shows, and a diminutive of ‘brace’ (meaning a couple) as in piglet, starlet, rivulet.