Listener No 4550

[Flocker14]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A classic Listener in a way and challenging enough too in parts; excellent tricky clues involving the switching of words and a theme I wasn't familiar with gradually and unambiguously revealed. I like to get them done by midnight on Friday and just tidy up loose ends on Saturday if possible - and in this case it was.

[upsetter]

An amusing crossword with some challenging clues nevertheless the hint from the letters was not needed.

[PhilipW]

Yes, a very pleasant puzzle. I was very fortunate to stumble on the theme almost immediately by chance by doing one specific clue at the start. I was fearing the worst before starting it since the last Ferret puzzle I did ("Puzzle Book") was an absolute brute. Thanks Ferret for the nice theme.

[HappyUncle]

I thought I was not going to finish this one because the clues were already complex enough without the added burden of switching words. A breakthrough with first one and then the other 12-letter word enabled me to forge ahead with both sides of the grid, after which progress was steady, with a nice PDM to round it off.

I am dismayed, however, to learn that there's an even bigger hill to climb (spoiler not intended) with 'Puzzle Book', which I have yet to begin. If anyone is mystified, it's Ferret's D-graded contribution to this month's Magpie.

[emcee]

I enjoyed solving these types of clue -- kept me going in fits and starts over the weekend.

No endgame, really, as such. Just confirmation via Google that something I'd never heard of actually existed.

Thanks, Ferret, for the great clues.