Listener 4231 - Vera By Elfman

[starwalker]

After last week's toughie, I was hoping for an easy ride this week - especially as we are off on holiday very soon. So, my heart sank when I saw this mixture of truths, half truths and lies. Probably more by luck than skill, I now have the proverb and one of the three grids. Still plenty to do, but thanks for the fun Elfman. I wish that your timing had been better.

[IainGrace]

Decent enough puzzle but flawed as one can "cheat" with a sensibly worded Google that readily supplies the proverb. Armed with a few entries and given the relative simplicity of the grids, even allowing for unclued entries, it is not then difficult.

Back to last week's puzzle. Completed grids, got the instruction and know the theme but but but.....

[upsetter]

The final PDM - comment retracted

[emcee]

Many thanks trux and midazolam. I've cold solved all but 14, so now, applying some logic, I may get something into the grid(s). No idea about the proverb as yet.

[emcee]

Much progress made after the first tentative entries in the grid. All done now!

[jim360]

Well I guess midazolam has finished already but is his counting rule really true? Only there are 6 four-letter words across between the sevens in the girds but just 5 clues there...

[jockie]

A strange solving procedure this week - the first 3 hours produced just 10 clues cold-solved. Then, as others have reported, it suddenly became clear (a bit like the Universe after 300,000 years or so) and the thing was polished off after another 2 hours or so. Nice to have finished it, but left feeling without the elation of a PDM. As with others, the alternates fell out first (was that grid easier to cross-ckeck, I wonder), then the lies and the truths last. Without the BRB on an iPad this would have been a nightmare though.

[Staurologist]

What a neat idea. Most enjoyable. Like Olichant, I got lucky early on, by chance solving the left-hand side of the left-hand grid, which led me to guess the proverb, with the help of Wilson's "Oxford Dictionary of English Proverbs" (much more interesting than Google). After that it fell out easily. Perhaps the fewer bewildered comments about a puzzle that contains "lies" the better, since bewilderment may stem from a lie, but, parenthetically, I thought that some of them were excellent.

[IainGrace]

"Title of respect...." clue grid entry is 7 letters not 6?

[tilbee]

I think this puzzle was awful.
Unfortunately there is a risk even on a site like this which tends towards self-censorship, that too much can be given away inadvertently.
One the best of the year so far.

(Feedback from all three of us)

[pushmi-pullyu]

I really enjoyed this one. Not having finished last week's I was dreading another cold solve, but was pleasantly surprised by how quickly everything fell into place. Still don't totally understand a few of the answers, but pretty confident that it's all correct. Thank you Elfman.

[mullingar]

I have three full grids but in my lying grid my fourth down sticks out like a sore thumb as not being a lie. If someone could explain it to me I'd be grateful and maybe the parsing of one across in the first grid too. I hope this isn't giving anything away. my email is [email protected]

[dylan123]

Midazolam
Surely you're being too optimistic- why do the clues have come in the regular cyclic pattern you suggest? eg isn't it possible that all the 4 letter sols from say, the lies, come before any other 4-letter clues?

[perseverer]

mullingar - message sent

[teuchter2]

I got this one finished on Saturday morning and found it very straightforward, but most enjoyable. I think I made a lucky guess early on too. Then it was back to last weeks, which is now done too.

[Cruncher]

Great fun and a few canny unchecked letters strewn around that might thin out the statistics a bit

[magichour]

Seemed harder at first than it ended up being. As others have said, working out the proverb early helped. The 'lies' grid was the last to be completed for me and enjoyed the revelation of the unclued answer in that grid as my final entry.

[SethMould]

Sorry to butt in, but I'm trying to save The Listener Media URL: http://youtu.be/A9QS8LE0Quc
Description:

[Coalminers]

Thank you SethMould. That is fascinating and quite poignant. I would certainly like to try and help. Might I suggest that you post on a thread which has just started (ie on a Saturday) to make sure that as many Answerbank users as possible get the opportunity to help out as well.

[Alekhine]

Out of sync with this as I was away on business last week.

Fortunately 4232 didn't hold me up too much on Friday leaving the way clear for this little number over the weekend. I thought it was enjoyable, although it became rapidly easier towards the end. Some nice clues.

[JenniferGlroai]

This had me going all week. A very satisfying brain gym which I actually posted off. Looked on Saturday but I hadn't won. Oh well