Those Raising Concern In Letter Before Member Added To Rolls(9)

[TICKASMINCE]

Hi. I'm guessing the answer is alarmists. I can explain the arm(member) in lists(rolls) but not the initial a. Anyone help? Cheers.

[dannyk13]

A(letter) + arm(member) inside lists

[TICKASMINCE]

Hi danny, why should the part of the clue 'letter' mean 'A' rather than any other letter?

[dannyk13]

Because it is referred to as before the rest of the clue.

[dannyk13]

Plus, a letter, as you say, could be any letter, but the solver has to work out which letter it is to fit the answer to the clue.

[Mamyalynne]

Glad you gave this a thread of its own Tickamince - also pleased to see Danny agree with me.

https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Quizzes-and-Puzzles/Crosswords/Question1648115.html

[dannyk13]

Sorry Lynne, I didn't know that you had previously answered this.

[Mamyalynne]

No need, it was me who suggested posting it again because the OP was not happy with the parse - better to have fresh eyes on it.

[TICKASMINCE]

Hi Mamyalynne and danny.
I thought each part of a clue should direct the solver to a specific word or in this case to a specific letter. Why the letter should be 'A' rather than any other letter seems a poor clue to me. On that basis if the setter had said a 'word' before, then you're just supposed to guess the word he's wanting correctly. I really don't like the clue at all.

[TICKASMINCE]

I really should just take a deep breath and let it go.
There are more important things to worry about.... like Brexit!

[Mamyalynne]

You're right that each part of the clue should mean something but in fairness some work needs to be done by the solver.

[TICKASMINCE]

Ok Mamyalyne.
Cheers.