Listener 4302: When All Else Fails By Ottorino

[AHearer]

Well, I paid my subscription in the end, and a puzzle like this makes it worth while. Mind you, I don't know how anybody could complete it without an early PDM allowing almost 3/4 of the grid to be filled. A lovely construction and a great challenge. Thank you, Ottorino.

[Cagey]

Agree with early pdm being very useful. Really enjoyed this one, comes at end of a really long and slightly stressful week. What a fab puzzle. My subscription finishes in next wee while. Not sure if will renew. Get the paper sat anyway.

[Ruthrobin]

We got a long long way without the pdm but what a great one it was when it came and there was still lots of solving to do. This was very tough compared to last weeks! Fabulous compiling Ottorino!

[lyrabelacqua]

Phew! Chewy right to the end, even with the revealing pdm. I'm still cross checking to make sure there are no silly errors. Back up to the required standard after last week's rather lightweight effort (sorry if that offends).

[SethMould]

Hi guys. Just a reminder I'm trialling a new website for the Listener where you can discuss puzzles on the forum: www.thelistener2015.weebly.com

[olichant]

I just checked in here to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious and to confirm that this really is A Very Tough Crossword. I guess I need to knuckle down...

[upsetter]

Now that's more like it. Clues sufficiently challenging, generous PDM and back to the clues to finish. Was this too hard to qualify as introductory to someone who has already reached eg Azed or Genius level?

[jim360]

I found this quite tough until finally the penny dropped (with a little help from google, having once again never heard of something literary before). I was all ready to get miffed at Ottorino for using the method of jumbled entries but I'll let him off the hook given the final grid.

[angus]

I have completed the puzzle, but one answer has three letters in the correct place, not one as stated. I don't know if I am allowed to say which answer this is, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this problem.

[tilbee]

Angus - I did not see any issues with the indicated number of letters being in the correct positions, so recommend you go through your solution again carefully. Agree with others that this was back to normal Listener standard, and like AHearer was helped by a fairly early PDM, so overall did not find as tough as the preamble indicated it might be. Thanks to Ottorino.

[jim360]

I thought there was a different error in one of the three-letter down answers. I suppose it's one of the more tricky solutions to check, but in general it seemed accurate, and later on it didn't matter anyway as much of the grid was confirmed by other concerns.

[perseverer]

Didn't get the PDM till quite far on, and it certainly helps! Still found the last few answers quite tricky to piece together. A decent challenge and no complaints from me this week.

[emcee]

I thought the difficulty level was just right in this puzzle; a mixture of easy clues and tough ones. My favourite type of puzzle where I can do the puzzle in bits, making steady progress each time I come back to it. Fortunately the PDM for the theme only came about 3/4 of the way through -- I think I would have been a bit miffed had it have come sooner.

A work I haven't met before but rather humourous I thought.

Many thanks, Ottorino. I savoured this one and look forward to your next.

[s_pugh]

Think I got lucky as I spotted what proved to be a useful phrase very early on in the cold solving, and help from Google then meant that most of the grid could be filled. To be honest I then found the back solving of the remaining clues to be a bit of a dull plod, but at least it was all unambiguous and unlike others I found no issues with any of the letters retaining their places. Even the highlighting was a doddle and a tad unnecessary but I guess it just squared the circle. Thanks Ottorino.

[Cruncher]

No PDM for me so finding this a real slog :(

[Cruncher]

Gosh, one PDM does fill a lot of empty squares. Might be finished for the footie

[tramart]

An enjoyable solve, the author's clique vaguely remembered from long ago.
One answer, a person involved in a trivial pursuit, required a Web search, and might better have been clued for the dictionary definition.

[Scorpius]

A tough but splendid puzzle. There was a good mix of very fair clues. In my Listener solving I prefer to get as far as can with the grid before trying to suss the theme. Having filled all but the NE corner (with much help from TEA) I became completely stuck, so looked for the author and work, which then enabled me to fill the gaps in the north-east. Filling the grid from positional information of the letters was a very satisfying logical process. That would have been ruined if I'd found the work early on in my solving.

What a contrast with last week's, which I thought was no harder than the average Times daily cryptic.

[jim360]

The irony is that, whioe there can be no doubt that this was a far better puzzle than last week's, it's jago's puzzle that is going to live longer in the memory...

[olichant]

For me, that was a really tough nut to crack. And I loved it. I didn't spot the theme for ages (and I totally agree, Scorpius - filling the grid using the positional information was a really satisfying logical exercise).

Many thanks, Ottorino - it was great.