Listener 4150 - Garden Scraps by Colleague

[starwalker]

A rapid grid fiil brings the reward of a visit to the sherry decanter before attempting to make sense of the preamble. It's a risky strategy, but someone has to try it.
On reflection, I think I boobed on Colleague's offering last year, so more care needed this time (and perhaps less sherry).

[aldanna]

Full grid, identified protagonists, one line - so still a bit to go but maybe not too much? We shall see. I reckon it's a numerical next week, and the weekend after I am off with all the family to celebrate my birthday, so like drb, I will see you for 4153.

[contendo]

I reckon the two hardest clues are those for 6d, especially as the answers don't meld with the associated across clues. Frustrating, then, that you don't actually need to solve them as what actually goes in at 6d is pretty obvious. As for me, I'm still stuck at the final stage. Turning letters into oblique positions doesn't produce any eureka moments for me, but perhaps I'm misunderstanding the instruction.

[Ruthrobin]

Think visual Contendo!

[Clamzy]

Indulging in my pastime of grid staring I noticed ..eensbury, which together with the title suggested Madison Square and boxing. I failed to find the Qu and the Marquis so looked in another direction and Bingo.
Thanks to Colleague for another fine Listener.

[silversolver]

Yes, a very straightforward grid fill and for once, the endgame also came quickly.

[tenflags]

I think that whilst a number of clues may have been generous as suggested earlier here, a number of others were clever and enjoyable.

Yet to finish off and perhaps now the best suggestion made earlier is that doughnut and a cup of tea.

[Clamzy]

Agreed tenflags. I think the Friday night comments about easy grid fills have to be qualified by "for some". I wonder whether the average solver would have known (say) 43 ac and one or two others without aids?

[tilbee]

Clamzy. Re 43a fairly standard wordplay suggests a specific word, which if (like me) you were not previously familiar with, you can then look up and verify in BRB. Since this is the primary reference for the Listener, I hardly think this counts as an 'aid' ?

[Clamzy]

Tilbee - there have been several posts to the effect that the grid was filled on the way home from work or on holiday etc., where even the BRB would not have been used. My point is that we lesser mortals should not be dismayed that we can't (yet) match this level of solving ability.
That's all.

[trux]

Clamzy : mefears that the Friday night clubbers are never separated from their BRBs, Bradfords - indeed I know for a fact that several of them sleep with their copies

[Walterloo]

I enjoyed this. Loved the clue for 10dn and appreciated many others. The bottom left corner defeated me for awhile, so not that 'quick' a grid fill for me. I've been away for nearly two years, having put the Listener on hold for that time until recently, so can someone enlighten me as to what 'BRB' means? I'm sure I know it, but like the wordplay for 37a it eludes me.

[easylistener]

Waterloo,
BIG RED BRICK = Chambers
And another one popular here is PDM = Penny dropping moment!

[Walterloo]

Ah, I see. The same BRB I have on a shelf right next to me. I get it. 'Big red Brick'. Very good. (Walterloo silently turns away and with a quick roll of the eyes to camera he slinks off, feeling slightly ashamed).

[Ruthrobin]

Don't worry, Waterloo! A new version of the BRB comes out in a couple of weeks and we'll probably have to change the acronym to the NBRB.

[Walterloo]

I agree, Ruthrobin. But, seeing as I've been using my excellent new Chambers app on my Ipod Touch, my need for another brick are somewhat unnecessary. I haven't touched my existing BRB for weeks!

[bobbycollins]

Add me to the not quite so easy grid fill brigade. Some were very routine but there were a fair number of tricky challenges.

[cluelessJoe]

Luddites corner checking in.
Walterloo, it's the likes of all this 'apps' and 'ipod touch' business which makes a new BRB necessary. It's about time people stopped inventing things and then dragging the words into common parlance ... it's an expensive job replacing these Chambers bricks. But then, I'm still resisting replacing my BBB (for 'red' read 'black'), aka mobile phone, which I seem to recall was slightly larger than Chambers the last time I saw it. It only has one 'app' - remarkably if you enter a number and press a button, it phones someone.

[trux]

That sounds good, CJ : my new i-thingy doesn't do that, mefears

[ichkeria]

"Add me to the not quite so easy grid fill brigade. Some were very routine but there were a fair number of tricky challenges. "

Quite. The grid fill for barred puzzles can be v quick if the clues and entries are "normal" and one has a word search readily to hand, esp an electronic one. I try to not to use those aids, although I must admit I was rather tempted here. Not a huge fan of puzzles like this where all the "jiggery-pokery" comes only after solving a normal puzzle, but the "jiggery-pokery" was fun and fairly straightforward, all the same, which is what matters.

[JackDeCrow]

Enjoyed this one. Not particularly quick on the grid fill due to a busy weekend, but pretty much all aspects of the PDM managed to hide themselves from me until right at the end, so the last few minutes brought a good few chuckles. Haven't managed to explain the "Descendant of Merry" to myself yet (surely not a LotR reference?) - if anyone could relieve me of that niggle, it would be much appreciated.