Listener 4560 Midsummer By Chalicea

[Philoctetes]

Really? If I can finish this within an hour, with little reference to the BRB, it is not top rate Listener. I appreciate the effort that goes into the construction, and that is pretty enough. But the cluing is weak, and on the easy side of a national daily cryptic. Sorry, but not much more to say.

[upsetter]

It did have a sense of having been phoned in - Chalicea has a great reputation in Listenerland and her contributions on Listen With Others are always worth looking at.
We can all have off days.

[Cloverjo]

Oh good, might be one that I can do ;)
Thanks, Chalicea.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Quite fun apart that it was far too easy. Listener professionals like Philoctetes exect more, and even Listener amateurs like me were disappointed, CloverJo.

[vetuste_ennemi]

I didn't understand the title, though, until I checked the date.

[Cloverjo]

I haven’t looked at the crossword yet. I’ll get it later on this morning, but I think I can guess at the theme. Or is that a red herring? I’ll see soon.

[vetuste_ennemi]

(Wrong colour, CloverJo)

[Cloverjo]

Ooh, intriguing...

[Flocker14]

When I was interested in starting solving the Listener I was put off for a long time by dipping into puzzles that were for me at the time impenetrable and then giving them up. It took one where I was able to get a foothold to get me going after which I haven't looked back - and that, I suggest, is the advantage of a slightly more accessible puzzle like this one, which has all the hallmarks of the tougher ones - the excellent construction and hidden information for example - but offers more encouragement for the novice in terms of somewhat lighter clues (only in some cases). Annoying for the purist, no doubt, but worth it if it brings more solvers into the fold perhaps. Thanks Chalicea - enjoyable and it did take me a bit of time to spot the exact theme...

[Contrarian]

I totally agree Philoctetes. The mark of a good cryptic clue, I think, is the extent to which the definition is hidden. Every single one of Chalicea's clues here wore its meaning on its sleeves.

This was boring.

[Hagen]

I agree with Flocker. A puzzle like this may seem trivial to the handful of experienced solvers who gather here, but it will still provide a substantial challenge to solvers who have just crossed the border into Listenerland. In any case, was it any easier than the recent offerings by Aedites and Opsimath? As far as I remember those puzzles didn't take me any longer than this one.

My only complaint is that I would rather this had appeared last week, as I was away and had a lot to do when I got back. That's hardly Chalicea's fault, though!

[sunny-dave]

A pleasant amble.

Once I realised just how uncomplicated the clues were, I had a go at doing the whole thing without either the BRB or electronic aids - and had no more than a couple of entries to check at the end.

A good entry point if you know anyone who wants to dip a tentative toe into Listeners.

Thanks Chalicea

[HappyUncle]

We've had a run of Easy Listening lately, so I fear what may lie ahead. Still, I agree with both sides of the debate about this one: beginners need encouragement of the kind that this puzzle provides, incorporating as it does the 'hidden message in clues' and 'hidden contents in grid' tropes; on the other hand, why make the clues so blatant? It would have done no harm to say just 'coin' in 31ac, 'solo' in 4dn, etc.

But does it meet the editors' guidance that 'the essence of a Listener crossword is elegance and subtlety of theme and clueing, not difficulty per se'? On balance, setting aside the quibble about over-egged definitions, it does. And since that guidance no longer seeks to protect the apoplectic solver from choking on his cornflakes we can probably turn a blind eye to 10dn as well!

Thank goodness I don't submit, though. What a chore that would entail this week.