Listener 4755

[graham_coldron630]

44 across consists of eleven letters but there are only six spaces for the solution.Any explanations appreciaed.

[bobbinwales]

This is a correction then to your recent post-??

[graham_coldron630]

Bobbinwales - yes it is

[Neveracrossword]

It's to do with the theme....

[perseverer]

There is a convention on Answerbank among Listener solvers not to give anything away. (Help is available in other forums elsewhere.)

In this puzzle it is not really giving anything away to say that the whole point of the puzzle is to figure out what you are asking by finding the message given by the eight extra words so that you can apply it to nine answers - essentially what it says in the preamble to the puzzle.

[Neveracrossword]

From the wording in the preamble, I knew it wa safe to mention ( to remind the OP) that it was thematic stuff...

[ProfessorMaisie]

It is not a convention on Answerbank, it has become the convention on the weekly thread that's dedicated to The Listener, but this hasn't always been the case. I've posted hints for the puzzle quite a few times but only in response to specific questions, this is Answerbank, after all.
44a is the thematic entry for an answer of 11 letters, you'll see several other clues where the length given in brackets is more than the space available for the answer - these are all similarly treated (once you get one you'll have good idea how they all work).

[ProfessorMaisie]

Try reading your 11 letter answer to 44a as a clue.