Listener 4019

[u10]

Look's like the new Listener website has closed the back door to obtaining the crossword. Perhaps we'll have to buy the paper instead. I can think of one of our "friends" who will be happy!!

[Clamzy]

Thanks sarrie. My vaguely remembered school French only runs to chaud.
Like most others I found this the most challenging so far this year, but like midazolam earlier in the thread, finished without fully understanding some wordplay.

[Cruncher]

Midazolam - yup me too. Looks like the back door is bolted.

I was wrong. The new website does have the archive back to 2001 but the lack of setter/title information would make any back searches very laborious.

[Mysterons]

Clamzy, for 5(ii) think seasons in Nancy.

[Clamzy]

Thanks mysterons. It did warn us in the preamble that accents were to be ignored, but I didn't catch on.

[Apache4D]

Oh dear!! Looks like this will be the first grid this year I don't complete before the next one is published, hugely disappointing though I haven't thrown in the towel yet!!

Just for a laugh I thought I would highlight all of the simpler clues (i.e the ones I've got, lol!)

1ac,2ac,3ac,5.2ac,6.1ac,8ac,10ac,11ac...
1dn(though unsure of wordplay for 1.1, may have this wrong),4dn,5.1dn,10.2dn,12.1dn

Unfortunately with the dearth of solves of the down clues, it's not possible to align my completed across rows....need one more complete column to continue...

Sad offering indeed, let's hope the next 48 hours prove fruitful!!

[Mysterons]

The first and sixth letters of 1D(i) should be the same, and start words for hammer and rucksack (being the wordplay). Good luck with that next column - you should be well away once you can intersect 2 rows with 2 columns.

[Philoctetes]

Fascinating post by Apache. I had things the other way round, solving well over half of the down clues, while only having a couple of across answers. I really enjoyed the logical exercise of arranging the row/column positions, and the pay off was a lovely "chuckle" moment. Ironically, my last solution was 10d1 - ironic considering where I went to university to read what!

[cluelessJoe]

... though I have to question just where Sabre went to University, and did he read Geography there? Am I not right in asserting that his clue to 4 across is geographically just plain wrong?

[Cruncher]

cluelessJoe - Sabre's answer is correct if you adhere to historical tradition (cf Wikipedia) and therefore, I guess, becomes a reference to what Berkshire has lost as a result of shifting county boundaries. Perhaps the clue was more intricate than we suspected

[Deviant]

I'm somewhere between Apache4D and Philoctetes - I'm struggling, but have far more down answers (13) than across ones (8) - indeed I haven't got any across answers that Apache4D has nor any complete rows, but I have got most of the early down answers and 4 complete columns :(

It's not that I can't deduce the wordplay, just that I can't find the words - most of them are obviously not in Bradford's. Perhaps I should go back to doing killers?

[Apache4D]

.......An update......

Thanks for the post Mysterons (and everyone else's encouragement), it was the nudge I needed and with that allowed me to align my rows/columns.

Current progress is, solved and entered into grid:
2ac,3ac,4.1ac,8ac,10ac,11ac
1d,4d,5d,6d,10.2d,12,1d
Solved but not entered:
1ac(due to uncertainty over 1.2 answer),5.2ac,6.1ac

Feels better having the grid partially completed, and am confident of all the answers i've entered into the grid and their position......now just have to see if I can work out the symmetry of clashes etc and get some more clues in!!

Philoctetes is correct it is fascinating how differently individuals fair, i'm clearly lagging here, but appreciate everyone's support and the lack of arrogance from all the succesful solvers, many thanks!

Keep at it Deviant, and Chambersreference.com has a handy 30 day trial if you don't have the sacred Big Red Book to hand.

[Lewap]

Well, after a very hesitant start last Saturday, I have pretty much completed "Au Contraire". I have the thematic name, and the gist of the clashing-letter commentary - however I am in a bit of a muddle over the order of the letters within the final 4 pairs of clashes (the final word of the commentary seems to be a plural, when the grammar before it suggests otherwise). Any assistance appreciated!
Cheers

[u10]

Lewap - think French (as hinted in the preamble to ignore accents) and think what you're completing! Like many of you, I found this puzzle incredibly difficult to start but once I had cracked a few positions of the cycles, the rest fitted into place nicely. In fact I was left at the end with a few clues that did not need to be solved.

[Mysterons]

Don't worry Lewap, your observation is correct, and is due to the fact that in that locality this would be called a crosswords puzzle (quite logical when you think about it !)

[Apache4D]

Phew! Finally completed the grid! As previously said, no doubt about the theme,and with no unchecked letters solving confidence is high.....very neat puzzle, and took me a week, oh dear!!

Now onto 4020, & EV848 & EV849.......am seriosuly behind now. Glad to finish this one within the deadline though.

[cruciverbali]

Well done Apache - you should be able to slip 4019 and 4020 in the same envelope and save a stamp at least !

(And don't forget today's Azed crossword)

[Deviant]

I finally finished this last night! It's probably taken as long as any Listener I've ever finished, though at least the ending to this one came in a rush once I'd got something in the grid.

Not too happy with the last bit as I'd dispute the nature of one highlighted section, but it can't be anything else.

As I've just posted it with 4020, I now have 4 days to do some of the accumulate mass of other crosswords. At least the Guardian seems to be going through a phase of publishing uninteresting puzzles to allow me to catch up on ones I want to do.