Listener 4131 - Carte Blanche en Tore by Ten-Four

[cluelessJoe]

Easiest one of the year for me by a long chalk. Am I getting smarter, or are these Listeners getting simpler?

[tilbee]

I am actually enjoying the fact that this is much tougher than many recently. One most likely to extend beyond the weekend and into next week. Have cold solved around 30 clues so far and think I have deciphered the complete instruction. No grid entries as yet, apart from 1ac / 1dn which I randomly put into the fist cell to make me feel I was making progress. I am sure I will need to move this later.

Out this evening so rest will wait for tomorrow.

[TheBear69]

I find it very hard to believe that anyone will correctly finish this without needing several copies. I pity anyone trying to do this one with just the slip cut from the newspaper.

[IainGrace]

Good luck, solvers. Having read the rubric and looked at a few clues, this one doesn't engage us at all. Probably couldn't finish it anyway but afraid we have no interest in doing so. Catch up on some reading instead this week.

[trux]

I feel exhausted but have struggled over the line .... once you get going with the grid-fill (almost certainly from the middle outwards), it's actually really quite fun but then the final completion (probably of NW and SE corners) becomes a long march ... but it is an amazing feat of construction. Thanks, 10-4 (and, speaking of which, even though our team cost 36 zillion Pounds less than the boyz in blue, we did get a point !!! Off to watch Match of the Day now)

[dr b]

Whew! Staggered over the finish. I found it helpful to set up the 15x15 in a spreadsheet - it made it much easier to erase/move words around as needed.

[bellabee]

JUST FINISHED - CAN YOU BELIEVE THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM DEAD BEAT.

[midazolam]

Hardest grid fill for a long time, perhaps since I started solving the listener. Despite this there is a knack to filling the grid given the number of clues and grid size. I cold solved about half and then filled all of them in one go, but in hindsight I could have done this much earlier (but then it does depend which clues have been cold solved).

I wonder why we have to submit it with the bars added - it makes it look much tidier following the instruction without them. Another nightmare for JEG. I think this should be taken into consideration when setting/editing that ther is someone who has to check these grids for errors.

Thanks Ten-Four for the challenge!

[trux]

Couldn't agree with you more, MidAZ - it seems a most unnecessary torture both for us and for the marker. (One could hardly fill the grid without knowing where the 7-letter words begin and end). Binned two grids because of slips of the pen before getting through the lot correctly. My advice (to avoid similar frustration, time-wasting, teeth-gnashing and hair-pulling) is to take great care with the bars on and near the perimeter...

[Monkmonk]

Am I right that if the lines aren't straight then the last part has infinitely many answers?

JG's job this week may be particularly challenging.

[midazolam]

Even if they are straight then then the solution can be reflected to produce a different appearance.

[silversolver]

Phew, finally got there. Hardest one for a long time, methinks. Amazing construction but a bit too much blood, sweat and tears required for my liking.

[bobbycollins]

Only popped in to recommend Spectator 2007, which is available at the magzine's website. A couple of notches up from Doc's general level of difficulty.

Cold solved about forty from this one but not up to the job of going any further - pity.

[trux]

BC (& others) : this is worth pursuing .... logic dictates where 26A must go in grid (count the number of Across clues) - and then start guessing which answers might intersect with it .... and so on ... it really is quite fun when one starts to see how the grid bellows out from the middle .... and then you (finally!) have some cross-checking letters, which makes grid-fill much, much easier.....

[teuchter2]

I am getting there, having a grid that is almost complete - about 10 clues to go. I haven't really concentrated on working out the message yet. I am enjoying this one, but as I am going down to Somerset tomorrow for a week I don't know if I'll be able to finish. It depends what dictionaries etc. I may have access to where I am staying.

[tilbee]

After a long struggle finally have completed the grid and have the instruction. Found I had to cold solve around 40 clues before I could get going on the grid. Am sure I could have started earlier but somehow had put in the wrong answer for 26a.

Time for a rest before moving onto the end game.

[tilbee]

Too tired now to work out the solution - so have taken the short cut of looking this up on the net.

[Arcticpenguin]

Finally finished the grid. Whooopeee. What a slog ! Got stuck after about 30 answers so I just guessed where everything had to go. Not very scientific but I started on bottom row and worked up (as most of the answers were in the bottom half). Message seems clear apart from last 6 or so letters. Must have something wrong somewhere but that wil have to wait for another day.

[Rogue-Elfe]

Got there on the clues relatively easily, and have a lovely looking, complete grid. Now then, what the deuce? One site I've looked at already today has said that the instruction is patently impossible, I can't find a definitive answer anywhere, and there are people on this board saying infinitely many solutions? How?
I've managed to get (I think) all but one of them...but then the last is blocked in. It makes me think I've got a bottom in science rather than a ....

[Rogue-Elfe]

Ok - I have it. I don't know if it's going to be recognised alone, so I will send some 'supporting material' in as well. Why not?
I found I needed multiple grids, as did some of the other respondants here; but in my case they were used simultaneously! Hope this wierd viewpoint will help others if they can figure out exactly what I mean by it.