Listener 4183 Continental Drift by Shark

[Ruthrobin]

For the second week running we have a brilliant new Listener setter (though Shark appears regularly in the IQ, EV and Magpie series) and what impeccable cluing. This was sheer pleasure with pdm following pdm wasn't it? Ingenious novelty in the device and the 'jumbles' not as daunting as they appeared at first sight. Thank you, Shark!

[cluelessJoe]

Sounds interesting - I'll look forward to doing it when I pick it up tomorrow :)

[starwalker]

Taken me a little longer than usual to get into this one, but the list of adjectives is starting to look promising. Sadly, other commitments mean that I may have to leave it for a while. Another great debut.

[cluelessJoe]

... or tonight!
Splendid feat of construction, admirably executed. I look forward to the next Shark.

[trux]

Splendid debut ... high class. Very neatly executed clues with absolute precision, delightful string of pdms. Roll on the next Shark! Many thx.

[Rogue-Elfe]

For starters, thankyou Clamzy, Blackhugh, Whenland and RR. Sinecure came through fine from each of you, and I now have many copies to choose from!
Don't know why I was worrying really.
Back to the present, and this one is really good. Hopping onto Qat to get assistance with some very unusual letter combinations in the hope (probably justified) that it will help. Don't know if this is the same for anyone else, but once I solved the odd-man-out clue, it became obvious immediately that it was the one - and I can see where it's going. Hopefully this can be solved this morning, then I can dig back into the Magpie.

[Walterloo]

Superb stuff. Shark compiled one of my favourite Magpies last year, entitled 'Removals', which also had a revelatory finish to it like this one. I got held up by incorrectly jumbling 15a, and as a clue 19a tricked me into leading me down the wrong path for ages, which I suppose is exactly what a good clue should do! When I eventually found the odd one out and began highlighting I couldn't help but wonder at the brilliance of the construction.
Thanks to Shark.

[Walterloo]

Superb stuff. Shark compiled one of my favourite Magpies last year, entitled 'Removals', which also had a revelatory finish to it like this one. I got held up by incorrectly jumbling 15a, and as a clue 19a tricked me into leading me down the wrong path for ages, which I suppose is exactly what a good clue should do! When I eventually found the odd one out and began highlighting I couldn't help but wonder at the brilliance of the construction.
Thanks to Shark.

[Walterloo]

It's such a good puzzle I posted twice!

[Rogue-Elfe]

Walterloo, I agree with you twice!
I also made a slip with 15a (unforced, though, I simply hadn't read the clue properly) and 19a was my last as well - although this was probably because of another error I didn't notice until the end.
Great crossword.

[Charpy]

Very enjoyable crossword for which many thanks, Shark. These days it's unusual to find a crossword clued so frequently with words which match the BRB verbatim. Understandable I suppose given the availability of electronic dictionaries. Nevertheless Shark gives the solver plenty to think about without resorting to vaguely synonymic clues and, for me, this was the most impressive feature of this puzzle.

[WessexGirl]

Sorry to change the subject, but I have just this morning joined the Times Crossword Club as I don't always get the Saturday paper. Can someone tell me please, is it still possible to submit entries by post if I print the page? Thanks for your help, and I look forward to tackling The Listener more regularly from now on!

[perseverer]

Wessex-Girl - simple answer, yes.

Another excellent construction, as many of the puzzles have been this year, even if none have been too difficult, yet!

[lyrabelacqua]

Another gem. I agree with all those who have expressed their appreciation. I loved the final pdm. Some really chewy clues here - 26ac in particular. Thank you Shark

[djawhufc]

Hi

I was going to attempt this for the first time. I do mephisto and spectator so thought it would be a good challenge.

Obviously it's me but I wasn't sure what the reference to the across clues meant. Could someone please help me out?

Thanks in advance

DJA

[perseverer]

djawhufc - for across clues, the answer has to be jumbled before entry into the grid. The wordplay part of the clue should give you some indication of the way the answer is jumbled.

[djawhufc]

Thanks Perseverer I'll have a go

[qwerty99]

A wonderful puzzle. Hard, but fair, clues. And what a difficult construction, not being able to use the non-highlighted letters in the rest of the grid. I was held up for a while in the SW corner, having made an error in 31 across. With several of the clues, I found I had to work out the wordplay after getting the answer. More from Shark, please!

[qwerty99]

Sorry, I meant the highlighted letters!

[contendo]

I enjoyed this, and the final PDM was a relief after I'd tried two other possible candidates for the odd man out. Quite a feat of construction by Shark. Again a few clues to give the politically correct boys something to worry about.

[dr b]

Quite a remarkable construction, indeed. I confess that the odd man out appeared pretty rapidly once the nature of the adjectives became clear, so I did not bother tracking down all the compound words once the highlighting seemed to be heading in the right direction. I would guess that all these compounds appear in Chambers but lacking the BRB it did not seem worth the effort to find them all elsewhere.

So this is two "proper Listeners" in a row! Let's keep it going.