Listener No 4427: Shut That Door! By Bandmaster

[AHearer]

I've enjoyed this all the way through. I was lucky in getting the first across and the first down quite quickly, so I could start filling the grid fairly soon. Once the theme became clear it helped to jog the brain in solving a lot more of the clues. Many thanks, Bandmaster, that was a delight.

[starwalker]

In many Listener crosswords, I have found myself with almost a full grid and little idea about what the theme was. In this case, I think (hope) that I got the theme early, but now have the problem of turning it into the required format. Some lovely clues (note how short they can be). Thanks Bandmaster, I may be baffled at the moment, but the enjoyment is still there.

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, a challenge right up to the end but a delight, too.Unlike AHearer, we had solved two thirds of the clues before understanding what was going on. Many thanks to bandmaster.

[Hagen]

Superb. I'm not a fan of carte blanche but this wasn't as fearsome as it looked, although it was by no means a doddle; I got rather bogged down on the lower half of the grid. Lovely theme, extremely well handled, and the AHA! moment was a joy. Top marks.

[upsetter]

Great fun and many challenging clues.
Perfect timing of the PDM, leading to much to-ing and fro-ing.

[AHearer]

To be honest, Ruthrobin, the solution of those first two clues at first set me off on a wild goose chase, in which the lengths of the thematic groups were one letter shorter and I was constructing Roman numerals, but I rapidly discarded that option. (I'm hoping that idea was so ludicrous that nobody else is chasing it, and this comment is still within this forum's self-imposed bounds!)

[icynorth]

Not much more to add. This was a delight from start to finish. Impressive clues and an astonishing grid. Many thanks, Bandmaster!

[s_pugh]

I enjoy carte blanches & this was no exception, but there is nothing in the endgame to confirm which of the 2 remaining numbers goes in which of the 2 empty cells. Do we just put them in order?

[icynorth]

It didn't occur to me that there would be an alternative way of filling the final cells other than "conventionally, in line with the theme".

[s_pugh]

I guess following the preamble to the letter (or digit in this case) it does say that each cell should receive a digit (not number), so I assume we're supposed to split it and the 'main event' doesn't feature? It seems that some of the objects feature this and some don't, and not having seen one in decades doesn't help me any! ;¬)

[Philoctetes]

Only about half way, as I find it very confusing for my little brain. But, trying not to give anything away, S Pugh, the "main event" by definition is not part of the object, as its title states

[Hagen]

S Pugh, I initially wondered the same. but the last instruction of the preamble states "digit" rather than "number" and this, I think, removes any fears that the setter's "pulled a Poat" (TM).

[perseverer]

Bandmaster won the Ascot Gold Cup for puzzle of the year in 2012 with his Listener Duet for One, and this puzzle must surely be a contender for this year's award.

[olichant]

Beautiful puzzle, beautifully executed. I loved this. Thank you, Bandmaster.

AHearer - by coincidence, I found myself on the same wild goose chase.

[Scorpius]

Just finished after a mammoth struggle. I saw what was going on with the entries very early, then much later got the theme, but I still found solving the clues and seeing where the answers slotted into the grid very tough, especially in the bottom half, which was stubbornly bare for ages. I didn't make things any easier by preparing a computer grid that was 14x14, not 13x14, so at the end I had a lot of empty cells in the middle two rows.

I agree it was a splendid puzzle with a very coherently implemented theme. Bandmaster's puzzles are always excellent.

[Ruthrobin]

Ditto, Scorpius. I wasted well over an hour failing to understand why I couldn't make the symmetry work in the 14X14 grid I had prepared. Those empty cells didn't help the fill at all did they!

[HappyUncle]

This has given me tremendous pleasure, just pottering along solving a bit more each time I picked it up again. Two of the thematic entries, in the top line and solved very early, led me straight to the object, but the satisfaction lay more in the construction work than in that PDM. Wonderful clues, an object lesson in how they should be written; another superlative puzzle from the dependably brilliant Bandmaster.

[olichant]

Incidentally - I don't know if Bandmaster reads these threads, but I'd love to see a setter's blog if such a thing is possible.

[cluelessJoe]

My first visit here for months .. nowadays I often lose interest in Listeners and don't bother to persevere to the bitter end. However this time I could not let it be. I could now complete this post by just transcribing HappyUncle's post verbatim. Superb Bandmaster, thank you

[Flocker14]

A tremendously entertaining and cleverly constructed puzzle. Certainly one of my favourites this year. Took me ages but every minute.

[Flocker14]

"was worth" is missing from the last message and would have featured in it if I had a computer worth the name