Times Listener No 4319

[Ruthrobin]

What an astonishing compilation. Ferret, I am amazed that you could construct this. Dare I say that I am also immensely grateful that 'solvers need not actually carry out the manipulation (as that would have turned me into a gibbering wreck!). Warm congratulations!

[TheBear69]

I actually did carry it out and the result is beautiful - submitting the thing would be infeasible but it looks nice on my desk.

Another of the many POTY candidates; 2014 has been terrific!

[TheBear69]

If you enter the film title and the one-word description from the down clue extra letters into youtube, you can see the relevant scene in the film...Well worth the visit!

[AHearer]

I paused at dinner-time yesterday with about two thirds of the clues solved and the instructions sorted out. Did not have nightmares about wrens. The grid fill this morning went quite smoothly -- indeed, a beautiful construction. Thanks to Ferret (and to The Bear for that link).

[olichant]

I found this very difficult to get into, especially the across clues, but wow was it worth it. A really stunning puzzle. Thanks, Ferret. I am in awe.

[trux]

Indeed, yes, a most beautiful construction with clues that allowed you plenty of scope to get into the grid design only to discover how devilish (& sublimely put together) the whole thing is. Fat fingers didn't help my efforts at manipulation! Many, many thanks to Ferret for another beauty.

[Ruthrobin]

OK, thank you, Bear, I'll risk becoming a nervous wreck & will create a beauty for the desk.

[jim360]

My word-formed-from-circled-letters skills are so awful that I'll just have to try to imagine what the final result should look like. Clues accessible enough to make it doable despite all that's going on... thanks Ferret!

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, I have my desk-top gem.

[s_pugh]

With Olichant on the across clues – they seemed much trickier than the downs. A lucky guess at the across instructions enabled a lot of back-solving. The finished article is a work of art but extreme care needs to be taken in one area in particular as it is easy to slip up if you’re not careful – I nearly did! Thanks Ferret for a cracker.

[AndrewG-S]

Brilliant puzzle perhaps another contender for POTY. Thanks ferret.

[PureListener]

I was considering throwing in the towel on this one, but the comments posted here suggest I should keep going.

On a separate note, I subscribe to the Times online just for the Listener in the Times Crossword Club. I barely read any of the newspaper and would certainly not miss it if it wasn't available to me. Is there any way I could regularly get hold of a copy of the Listener every week without the online subscription or buying the hard copy (which is not always possible for me because I am frequently abroad)? I like to submit completed grids, so whatever I do will have to be acceptable to St. Albans.

[IainGrace]

Like PureListener, slightly daunted by this. The rubric reads like a pastiche of a Listener rubric, save for the final instruction to transliterate into Ancient Greek. We shall see....

[sunny-dave]

Phew - that was hard - difficult to get started and then falling for some traps in the identification of the double-letter squares made the finish quite taxing too.

Worth it though - a lovely puzzle and very, very cleverly presented.

I may photocopy and enlarge my final grid before handing it to someone less ham fisted than me to manipulate.

Thanks Ferret - a very good work-out.

[tilbee]

Another excellent puzzle from Ferret who is fast becoming one of my very favourite setters (regular puzzles also appear in Magpie) which are always replete with thematic content. I for one however will not be attempting the final manipulation.

Agree with sunny-dave that this was made more tricky by the initial ambiguity in the double-letter squares which then had to be resolved later on.

[Staurologist]

I was tempted to fold on this one, but kept going until it came out. Excellent construction. I knew nothing about the circles-word art and was pleased to be educated about that, although my skills fall short when it comes to the manipulation itself. Thanks to The Bear for the You Tube info. It's a long time since I saw this one and it brought back happy memories. Other scenes from the film are also worth watching.

[Pasquin]

I was unaware of this theme so it revealed itself very slowly. As with others, the across clues held me up longer than the downs, and care had to be taken with the ambiguities. The solution looks far too good not to submit it in its manipulated form. But the most awkward part is yet to come, when I have to explain how I spent my weekend. Thanks, Ferret.

[borealis]

Fascinating. Great thematic symmetry, very nice resolution of at least one ambiguity, and one two-letter crossing that had me laughing. A delight indeed. Thank you, Ferret.

[perseverer]

Found this hard going, but cold solving is not really my thing. Seems rather a shame that you don't have to carry out the manipulation, considering the amount of effort it must have taken for Ferret to set it up.

[Cagey]

Took a while but got there in the end. Aided by some correct assumptions. Hindered by some incorrect ones. Celebratory drink and bed. Much needed. Mentally exhausted from this. Physically exhausted from a mountain bike up the seven hills of Edinburgh. Thank you ferret.

[Cruncher]

Had a train journey up to Edinburgh and back this weekend so this was just the perfect travelling companion. Was tempted to ask the lady across my table for a pair of scissors as we hit Darlington this afternoon but thought she might panic