Listener 4491 A Dreadful Puzzle By Dysart

[s_pugh]

Is there a prize for the most apt title ever?

[Hagen]

It was brave of Dysart to choose this title! The puzzle was far from dreadful in my view, providing just the right amount of head-scratching before the link between the thematic elements dawned. Nice clues too which relied on clever wordplay rather than deliberate obscurity. Thanks Dysart.

[s_pugh]

Maybe I was being too harsh, or maybe it was just down to recovering from the brain fade induced by last week's numeric. Either way the thematic treatment became obvious a little too early for my liking enabling a lot of grid filling to be done followed by the chore of retrospective solving to fill in the gaps. I'll know if I was being too harsh when I see Alekhine's verdict. Thanks Dysart.

[kdgs2]

I thought that this was far from dreadful. The penny dropped about 75% of the way through, so it didn't spoil things and allowed me to correct an error in the NW quadrant. Relatively easy by 2018 standards but still quite a challenge.

[Liathach]

As so often, I am staring at the grid hoping to find a cartoon character I have heard of. Failing that, I am searching for a character Dysart knows about but I don't. Thought I was close with MOE ***** I but I think that is a real person. (Don't want to give too much away, hence the asterisks)

Just hoping this doesn't take as long as solving the clues, all of which were delightfully unambiguous.

[sunny-dave]

Excellent - beautifully precise clues - not a word wasted (which is essential if you're looking for interlopers) and some nicely out-of-the-ordinary definitions used.

The penny clanged down rather late in the day for me, but at least it was then a quick canter to the finishing line.

I remember my dad fulminating about the cartoon character - I merely thought him unfunny - but at least I remembered him.

Thanks Dysart - nice one.

[olichant]

Enjoyment of a puzzle is subjective to a degree, of course, but even so, i was surprised by the first comment here. I thought this was a very enjoyable and skilfully set puzzle. A terrific batch of clues, too, some of which took me quite some time to suss.

[icynorth]

An impressive grid to include all the examples it did, and I learned some new words (something I imagine I’d also do in the company of that cartoon character).

Thanks, Dysart!

[Flocker14]

I fully agree with olichant. A superb puzzle - especially looking back when you've finished it. That the theme could be so present and yet so elusive is a tribute to the setter. I feel like inventing a relevant term for Listener solvers as the weekend approaches - ideas later perhaps...

[HappyUncle]

By no means a disappointment, although I made a spectacularly wrong decision right at the start, which left me with an otherwise empty NW quadrant until the rest was almost entirely completed. Although my entry looked all right to me, its main definition in BRB is 'astonished', which should have been a warning. I'm inclined to think that Dysart will have been well aware that he was setting a corker of a trap.

[starwalker]

Excellent in all ways. Nice to see a return of normal service after last week's headbanging. Thanks Dysart.

[Cruncher]

Found the cluing tough and the P was late to D. Must have missed something but the cartoon character seemed rather irrelevant. Otherwise fun putting it together with the uncertain location of the jumbles making for difficulties initially

[upsetter]

A damn fine crossword - thanks Dysart.

[Philoctetes]

A splendid run out, keeping (for me) the penny well suspended until the closing moments. But then so much material suddenly appeared. And so many cartoon characters are associated with thematic items!

[Hagen]

I didn't mention it in my previous post, but I agree with Cruncher that the cartoon character seemed rather irrelevant. I'm not convinced that the character is noted for one if the thematic items in its true sense, and we had two other endgame stages which were necessary to show we'd understood the theme. Still, it didn't spoil a very enjoyable puzzle, not least because I'd heard of the character - I have't taken any interest in cartoons of any sort since about 1978!

[Alekhine]

Hmm.

Haven't posted for the last couple of weeks, but I received a call on the Alekhinephone from s_pugh.

I thought that some of the clues were very good. Despite this, I had an odd feeling of dissatisfaction with others. Hard to explain exactly what unsettled me ... just a general feeling of ... inaccuracy(?) here and there.

I'm intrigued about HappyUncle's reference to a diabolical trap. I confess to being unaware of whatever it is. Am I alone?

[freiheid]

I liked it, and as usual from Dysart there is some inventive clueing (e.g. using 'laird' to indicate a Scottish usage). The gimmick wasn't obvious for some time until I detected a bit of a pattern in the entries. I wondered why the opportunity was not taken to include another thematic entry at 34a - perhaps because of intersections, but it would all work out in the end.

[HappyUncle]

For Alekhine (and any others who are baffled but silent) I must begin by confessing that, while solving, I was in a state of befuddlement brought on (OK, made worse) by still recovering from a vile flu-like infection.

Starting with 1ac, I entered without hesitation OPEN-EYED and marked 'renowned' as the extra word. The BRB def isn't really a synonym for 'excited', and as no one else has even hinted that they might have fallen into error, I suppose it wasn't a trap at all.