Listener No 4264 Commission By Aedites

[Ruthrobin]

What a pleasure to have a theme that yielded itself so nicely without a fearsome final grid staring process. Of course we have had to resist the urge to insert the correct letters and it has been entertaining to find those misprints anywhere in the clue. Very enjoyable, thank you Aedites.

[pushmi-pullyu]

Very relieved that this one was so straightforward as it gave me time to finish off last week's.

[Scorpius]

Fyellin, I don't think your complaint that you had to use wikipedia is altogether fair. Actually, you didn't have to use wikipedia (though that was probably the most convenient source) since the preamble gives a biographical source for the names (only one of which was familiar to me as well). This is perfectly in line with Listener practice.

Several posts on the previous page have commented on the difficulty of working out the correct letters in some clues. I'm not sure what's intended in 26, though one is marginally better than anything else; and there are two possible corrections that work for 31.

[millman]

Just thought I'd say as a newcomer to these crosswords that it is worth persevering. I could do one in ten but now one in three and this thread is very encouraging (mostly) to those of us who don't have huge heads. Nothing ever given away to spoil but a steer as to difficulty level makes a tremendous difference. I'm still only usually in a Tuesday club at best but today all done by this a.m. Really important to encourage others IMHO as membership and contribution seems quite narrow at times.

[fyellin]

Scorpius, while I agree with you in principle, the cited reference is not one likely to be in my home or in my local library. And I do confess that I have a disadvantage in recognizing the date.

Google was surprisingly good. I typed in the when and the what, and it immediately took me to a page telling me the who, the why, and the to whom.

[twoshortplan]

Finished this pleasantly easy puzzle having guessed the theme quite early. But I can't see the wordplay for 4dn. Can someone give a hint just fo my peace of mind, without giving too much away? Thanks

[Cruncher]

TwoShortPlan - I'll do you a swap. 4dn is a little tricksy. If you email me your answer at [email protected] I'll tell you if you are on the right track. You can do the same for me with one of the other clues.

[maurice]

At this late date, and it being my first time round, may I ask for assistance (if indirect) with these last few, where I'm sure of the solutions but not of their complete parsing (everything else completed):
Across 15 26 27 31 33
Down 4
That would be a great help for me, if only to confirm: short hints would suffice!

[EAChaplin]

Maurice I don't think you're going to get them on here. Post an email address and generous help will be forthcoming.

[maurice]

OK then, for those willing & able to explain:
[email protected]

[jim360]

I'm afraid I didn't understand half the wordplays either -- but anyway, welcome the Listener/ AB madhouse!

For reasons that go back to before my time, it's been established that AB Listener solvers will discuss what they thought about the puzzle, but nothing more specific. I think it was felt that too many spoilers were given, which detracts from the fun of it all and allows people to complete the puzzle without understanding it themselves. Instead there's still some private discussion goes on, behind the scenes -- hence the email.

Hope you enjoy many other listeners to come!

[maurice]

Thanx 4 the kind words, Jim. Wonder if anybody will contact me now............

[maurice]

Thanx 2 two participants I have been able to sort out those final queries ALMOST perfectly! While respecting this community's wish not to see so many spoilers, I do feel it's also important to give a lending hand privately on small matters of detail to those new to the game. Not that I shall be impatient to try one again in the near future, I fear, but I'd like to express my gratitude for the method you have found not to be overly exclusive! In the long run I think many of you will agree that's a very fair compromise.

[jim360]

Discovered that my doubts about the wordplay to 4d have been resolved by having used the wrong word as the definition. Drat.

[tramart]

Part way through the solve I realised I had 'don' and '_an_e_' in the grid, with 'g', 'o' and 'd' as consecutive misprints. The grid nearly went through the shredder there and then!
Fortunately I am all-too aware that I often don't get the theme until quite late on, as setters intend, and soon realised that several of my misprints were wrong.
Some of the wordplay took some understanding, but enjoyable overall, and I especially liked the way the 12-letter name was hidden.