| Brutally honest |
USA Today |
25 Aug 2025 |
| First Officer ___ (role-playing character who always speaks their mind on "The Rehearsal") |
USA Today |
24 Aug 2025 |
| "A Quiet Place" actress Emily ___ |
|
|
| False show of confidence (5) |
|
|
| But LN isn't so sharp! (5) |
|
|
| Not quite blue and not extremely plain-spoken (5) |
|
|
| Emily ___, actress (5) |
|
|
| Mostly gloomy books lacking edge (5) |
|
|
| Dull |
Eugene Sheffer |
13 Jun 2025 |
| Tactless spy unmasked |
The Telegraph Cryptic |
12 Jun 2025 |
| Straightforward and then some |
|
|
| Unsharpened, like a knife |
|
|
| Emily of Into the Woods |
|
|
| Plain-spoken singer James (5) |
|
|
| Into the Woods star Emily |
|
|
| Such remarks may still be pointed! (5) |
|
|
| Plain-spoken actress Emily (5) |
|
|
| Pulling no punches |
Newsday |
24 Jan 2025 |
| No point in being undiplomatic (5) |
|
|
| Ashley _ Fish South winner, 2022, 2023 and 2024 (5) |
|
|
| Not sharp |
The Telegraph Quick |
14 Jan 2025 |
| There's no point in being outspoken (5) |
|
|
| Rudely straightforward |
New York Times Mini |
30 Dec 2024 |
| Outspoken description of poor blade (5) |
|
|
| Singer James is characterised by candour (5) |
|
|
| Recording artist behind 20-year-old album Back To Bedlam (5,5) |
|
|
| Singer behind 20-year-old album Back To Bedlam (5) |
|
|
| Not sharpened |
|
|
| Straight to the point? But there is no point! |
|
|
| Unsharpened (5) |
The Guardian Speedy |
13 Oct 2024 |
| Not sharp |
The Sun Two Speed |
07 Oct 2024 |
| Tactless Anthony the Soviet spy |
The Sun Two Speed |
07 Oct 2024 |
| Frank left nut out behind front of burrow (5) |
|
|
| Forthright and mostly sad, not heartless (5) |
|
|
| Emily ___, actress from "Oppenheimer" who may be "straightforward" |
|
|
| Too frank, perhaps |
|
|
| Surname shared by singer James and actress Emily (5) |
|
|
| Dull and colourless (5) |
|
|
| Untactful to a fault |
New York Times Mini |
19 Jul 2024 |
| Like one who isn't concerned about being tactful when speaking |
|
|
| The Devil Wears Prada actress Emily |
|
|
| 26 not subtle with cannabis cigarette |
|
|
| Not at all keen to be plain-spoken (5) |
|
|
| PlusWord No 735 solution |
The Telegraph Plusword |
26 May 2024 |
| James ___, You're Beautiful singer (5) |
The Telegraph Mini |
13 May 2024 |
| Candid actress Emily (5) |
|
|
| Not keen to be outspoken (5) |
|
|
| Former Life Guards officer best known for the 2005 number one single You're Beautiful (5,5) |
|
|
| Dull-edged(5) |
|
|
| Won't cut what's endlessly pornographic at National Theatre (5) |
|
|
| In need of sharpening (like a pencil) |
|
|
| Not sharp: a - knife |
|
|
| Emily -, actress (5) |
|
|
| Actress Emily of The Devil Wears Prada |
|
|
| You're Beautiful and 1973 singer/songwriter James _ (5) |
|
|
| Singer-songwriter whose debut album was Back To Bedlam, James _ (5) |
|
|
| Opposite of sharp |
Mirror Classic |
03 Feb 2024 |
| To be outspoken, it won't cut (5) |
|
|
| Dull-edged (5) |
|
|
| Anthony, art historian and Soviet spy who died in 1983 (5) |
|
|
| See 15 Across |
The Guardian Weekend |
25 Nov 2023 |
| Unsharpened |
Universal |
06 Oct 2023 |
| Hardly diplomatic |
Wall Street Journal |
03 Jun 2023 |
| James ___, English singer who topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the song "You're Beautiful" |
|
|
| Not sharp, as a pencil or knife |
New York Times |
19 Dec 2022 |
| Pot holder |
New York Times |
30 Jul 2022 |
| Emily ___ who starred in "A Quiet Place" |
|
|
| Frank's lacking a point |
|
|
| Unceremonious — dull |
The Guardian Quick |
12 Nov 2021 |
| Disconcertingly frank |
Wall Street Journal |
30 Oct 2021 |
| Unvarnished |
Newsday |
02 Oct 2021 |
| Outspoken |
The Telegraph Quick |
26 Aug 2021 |
| Very direct |
USA Today |
27 Jul 2021 |
| Lacking a sharp edge |
The Times Concise |
15 Mar 2021 |
| Brutally honest |
USA Today |
14 Nov 2020 |
| Dull Soviet spy |
|
|
| Dull-edged, like a knife |
|
|
| Unsharpened |
The Telegraph Quick |
20 Sep 2020 |
| Outspoken, a Parisian tucking into sandwich? |
The Telegraph Cryptic |
07 Sep 2020 |
| Not sharp |
USA Today |
10 Jul 2020 |
| Actress Emily |
Jonesin |
19 May 2020 |
| A James The Fourth Man? |
|
|
| Not mincing words |
The New Yorker |
28 Oct 2019 |
| Candid |
The Telegraph Quick |
15 Sep 2019 |
| Not mincing words |
USA Today |
02 May 2019 |
| Dull, not sharp |
The Sun Two Speed |
01 Apr 2019 |
| Tactless Anthony the Soviet spy |
The Sun Two Speed |
01 Apr 2019 |
| Like a pencil that needs sharpening |
|
|
| Not mincing words |
|
|
| Needing sharpening |
Newsday |
21 Oct 2018 |
| Unsubtle spy? |
|
|
| Uncompromisingly direct |
New York Times |
09 Sep 2018 |
| Remove lie from bulletin for Frank |
Irish Times Crosaire |
03 Mar 2018 |
| Uncompromisingly direct |
|
|
| Not sharp |
The Telegraph Quick |
08 Sep 2017 |
| *Not pointed ... and the start of an eight-step word ladder |
New York Times |
30 Aug 2017 |
| *Not pointed ... and the start of an eight-step word ladder |
|
|
| Pulling no punches |
The Washington Post |
12 Dec 2016 |
| Not sharp |
LA Times Daily |
02 Dec 2016 |
| Far from diplomatic |
The Washington Post |
06 Nov 2016 |
| Outspoken Soviet spy |
|
|
| Direct |
LA Times Daily |
24 Apr 2016 |
| Dull sandwich has a French filling |
The Telegraph Cryptic |
03 Mar 2016 |
| To the point ... or not pointed |
New York Times |
17 Jan 2016 |
| Needing sharpening |
The Times Concise |
14 Jan 2016 |
| To the point ... or not pointed |
|
|
| Not sharp |
|
|
| Painfully forthright |
Universal |
29 Sep 2015 |
| Less than tactful |
Thomas Joseph |
09 Sep 2015 |
| Brusque |
The Telegraph Quick |
18 Aug 2015 |
| Dull or tactless |
Irish Times Simplex |
04 Jun 2015 |
| Painfully forthright |
|
|
| Direct |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| Johnson of the Cambridge Four (or was it Five?) was known to be abrupt |
|
|
| Pulling no punches |
|
|
| Disconcertingly direct |
|
|
| Dull-edged |
|
|
| Not pulling any punches |
|
|
| Straightforward |
|
|
| Straightforward |
|
|
| Not pussyfooting |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| Dull-edged |
|
|
| "You're Beautiful" singer James |
|
|
| From the hip |
|
|
| Not mincing words |
|
|
| Like an épée's point |
|
|
| To the point, ironically |
|
|
| Not pulling any punches |
|
|
| Short on finesse |
|
|
| Not pulling any punches |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| Painfully forthright |
|
|
| Painfully frank |
|
|
| Outspoken |
|
|
| Painfully forthright |
|
|
| Direct |
|
|
| Direct |
|
|
| Not sharp, as a pencil |
|
|
| Telling it like it is |
|
|
| Plainspoken |
|
|
| Not for the thin-skinned |
|
|
| Unvarnished |
|
|
| Plain-spoken |
|
|
| Not for the thin-skinned |
|
|
| Take the edge off |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| Not sharp |
|
|
| Needing sharpening |
|
|
| Needing sharpening |
|
|
| Without an edge |
|
|
| Not at all diplomatic |
|
|
| Far from beating around the bush |
|
|
| Free-spoken |
|
|
| Not too tactful |
|
|
| Tactless |
|
|
| Inconsiderate |
|
|
| Free-spoken |
|
|
| Pointless |
|
|
| Like a foil |
|
|
| Weaken |
|
|
| Dull |
|
|
| To the point |
|
|
| Deaden |
|
|
| Not sharp |
|
|
| Insensitive |
|
|
| Brusque |
|
|
| Obtund |
|
|
| Mincing no words |
|
|
| Outspoken |
|
|
| Plain-spoken. |
|
|
| English poet. |
|
|
| Insensitive. |
|
|
| From the hip |
|
|
| Abrupt. |
|
|
| Like a used pencil |
|
|
| Outspoken. |
|
|
| Outspokenly frank |
|
|