Listener 4248 Class By Augeas

[starwalker]

Lovely and straightforward puzzle. Glad that the highlighting is optional, although I'm sure that JEG will be generous on the interpretation of the shade. Thanks Augeas for bringing back some happy memories.

[olichant]

For anyone looking for a trickier challenge, can I recommend Schadenfreude's latest challenge in CAM 69 (Eccles)? It is available online - I apologise that I cannot provide a link from where I am, but googling CAM69 should do the trick. No Z-Cup on offer.

[Texasetes]

Thanks for the reminder, olichant. Maybe unsurprisingly, your suggested google returns plenty of er ... non-crossword-related material, so the following link might be handy:
http://www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/news/cam/cam69/CAM69.pdf

[jim360]

Made it through this one without too much trouble, but pleased that I don't have to do the highlighting as I'm not sure I have the correct colour.

[olichant]

Texasetes - ugh, yes, I am clearly a prize idiot. But thank you for the link. It is, as you would expect from Schadenfreude, a very clever, tight puzzle -and not the easiest.

[Texasetes]

While preparing to print the puzzle from CAM 69, I noticed the winner of CAM 68. Is he someone we might know by a more informal first name?

[tramart]

No need to look up anything, so I neither know nor care what Wikipedia says. The thematic clued word fair flew off the page. As to colour, there is only one possibility.
As others have implied, I'd say it should be 8 characters below the grid, but that's being picky.

[Scorpius]

It does appear that technically there should be 8 characters, but for anyone agonising over the precise achievement I suggest locating a picture of the achiever on the internet, complete with memorial plaque.

[aldanna]

Not a subject that fascinates me, but I would also agree with the pleasant-not-taxing view. Not had much time for Listeners recently, nor much in the next few weeks, so a nice interlude. Not sure about the highlighting, but it's optional anyway. I was quite sure about the six characters until various people here raised doubts, but shall stick with plan A.

[Patch49]

Is 3d an abbreviation?

[Scorpius]

Patch49, the answer to your question is no.

[inanna37]

could anyone tell me how long a brewer's should take to arrive?

[PureListener]

inanna37 - about two weeks. Congratulations.

[Scorpius]

It's only just occurred to me that there are two ways of entering 20 across. One is thematically more appropriate, the other more in keeping with crossing entries. I cannot see any hint in the preamble as to which one to opt for, though I know which I prefer. I wonder if JG will accept either.

[borealis]

Good fun. Can't see your two options, Scorpius, but I can see another chance for a Listener based on the same subject in just over four years!

[s_pugh]

Scorpius - I think I know what you mean about another method of entry for 20A and the related lights (though it would have meant quite a squeeze!). I think the instruction in the preamble about length of grid entries being those in brackets resolves the question.

[Scorpius]

s_pugh, I don't think the grid entry reference does resolve the issue. That is surely the standard preamble caveat where some answers are longer than the number of cells in the grid, because the setter does not want to reveal from the outset which answers those are. It does not imply that answers are transformed.
If one adopts the option that's easier to fill in, then the crossing entries are not real words, but there's nothing in the preamble to suggest that the final grid contains improper or abnormally expressed answers. For that reason my preference is for the method that is more awkward for the solver to fill in. I don't see how that could possibly be marked wrong.

[perseverer]

(If you have access) the solution to eg Listener 3893 gives what was regarded as the right answer in a similar situation (but doesn't mention if the alternative is acceptable or not.)

[Texasetes]

"All highlighting was ignored when marking entries", which makes me wonder why the possibility was ever mentioned. Either make highlighting mandatory (if it adds to the proof that the solver has understood the theme) or don't ask for it. If it's optional then surely it has to be done correctly.

It's the inconsistency that I don't like; often a cryptic preamble must be interpreted in precisely the intended way so that everything about the submitted grid is just so. Yet here we were invited to do something completely irrelevant.

I wonder how some random highlighting would be regarded in a puzzle which didn't ask for it, even as an option.