There were arguments over the answers to two clues in Crossword Two, as to whether these were Had‐An‐Eltons. This phrase came from a dear friend of ours who used to come to the Club before moving out of London. When he was compiling his first crossword, he painted himself into a corner (literally) by leaving himself the set-up ‘H ‐ D ‐ N ‐ L ‐ O ‐’ to fill in. The only phrase he could grope for was HAD AN ELTON, clued what Mrs John did.
Ever since then we’ve used this phrase to describe an answer which is totally improbable, wouldn’t be in any Dictionary, and is a desperate ‘filler’. Needless to say, they are a no‐no. I furiously deny using Had‐an‐Eltons. See if you agree with the critics, or even whether you can spot which answers we were arguing about.
We were also tearing our hair out over the crossword in the New European. Not because it was difficult, but because it was so crap. Do you agree and can you see what’s so wrong about it?
We’re always glad to hear from people on this or any other subject, especially things relevant to LGBT Theatre (which this isn’t!).
Crossword One: Crossword 1
Crossword One: Crossword 2
Here are the solutions if you need them: