Listener No 4409

[Ruthrobin]

We have loved every minute of this magical construction. pdm after pdm with a most satisfactory finish. Congratulations to Xanthippe for a superb compilation.

[Contrarian]

Yes, an astonishing achievement. The level of interdependency of the various gimmicks is quite awe-inspiring.

Thanks Xanthippe.

[AHearer]

I totally agree. After sailing through B, limping through C, crawling through D, and barely making it alive through A (even though we were told what gimmick to look for in A) I was delighted with the finish. Many thanks, Xanthippe.

[Flocker14]

Earlier query withdrawn! This is a tour de force - one of the year's best for me. Now to work out just how and why it all works.

[tnap]

Good fun. The preamble suggests an A-B-C-D solve, but I'm sure I won't be the only one to do it differently.

[emcee]

After a break, I feel a comment is necessary!

Xanthippe's puzzles, although not necessarily difficult, are always interesting and have wonderful constructions.

I thought this puzzle become easier: grid A I found the toughest, having to find the two independent extraneous letters. This, in itself, became easier once one of the words of the instruction became evident.

Superb and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thanks, Xanthippe.

[Hagen]

I found this very difficult, especially the A quadrant. I did the four quadrants in ABCD order and couldn't get a foothold for a long time. Kudos to Xanthippe for getting so much thematic material into the puzzle. I fulfilled the requirements of the puzzle in the end but I'm sure there are further thematic subtleties that I've missed.

A very clever and ingenious Listener puzzle.

[olichant]

I thought this was brilliant, and whilst undoubtedly hard in places (grid A, I'm looking at you) it was uninterrupted fun throughout, with a steady series of PDMs. Great stuff. Thanks, Xanthippe.

For what it's worth, for me it was BDCA.

[Scorpius]

Very interesting and intricate grid arrangement, and a superbly constructed puzzle. It yielded its secrets slowly and I'm sure there is more to it that I have yet to see. I also found grid A the toughest and didn't get the full message from that grid until I'd completed all the others. I found B and D the easiest to fill.

[starwalker]

In agreement with everything said so far. Some tricky clues that I need to go back to analyse, now that I have a full grid. Great achievement. Thanks Xanthippe.

[upsetter]

Maybe if this had appeared earlier, hubby would have poured the hemlock down the sink.

[s_pugh]

After spending most of Saturday on this I had the precise sum of 3 answers, and given they were in 3 separate quadrants I was on the verge of giving up. A flash of inspiration in the small hours saw me smash C, then D, and a lucky spot in A gave me the complete hidden philosophy. Lastly I broke B. Brilliant composition and a real challenge. Only the wordplay in 6AC eludes me - even though I know what to discount. Thanks Xanthippe for that tour de force.

[icynorth]

A triumph - my favourite of the year so far. I solved it B-C-finish-D-A, for the record. Thanks Xanthippe!

[Philoctetes]

Very enjoyable, especially having to keep four plates spinning at once, remembering which gimmick was in play. Some sweet clues, too, of which 8 was, for me, a gem.

[petefoxes]

Xanthippe set my favourite puzzle from last year (Golf...) and I enjoyed this a lot too. Very clever.

[borealis]

Did this ABCD - not sure how you guys managed a different route! Lovely clueing, the kind that makes you groan at your stupidity when you get it. Only insignificant niggle - the third thematic item in C is a bit of a mismatch with the other two, isn't it? Construction, theme, everything.. excellent. Thank you, Xanthippe.

[crucifer]

Terrific puzzle. One that kept its interest right to the end. I worked through the quadrants broadly in order but there were certainly gaps in A right to the end. Fittingly, 8 across, one of the highlights, was last in.

Thanks Xanthippe. A real tour de force.

[taittinger]

Joining the chorus of approval. Very enjoyable. Route taken D-C-B-A, so maybe sometimes it's good to start at the end.