Listener 4045: Admission by Kea

[AHearer]

An exquisite construction by Kea, with a very pretty ending. I found myself making some wild stabs based on the definitions and then working back to the misprinted wordplay before it all fell into place.

Going back a bit, I was interested to see that SALAD as well as BOWL had been allowed in 4042. I'll stop kicking myself over that one now!

[Speravi]

I think I may be near completion... I have the quotation and the five thematic items. I've made a copy of the grid and cut out the thematic items "en bloc" and found a place to which to move the thematic structure. Quantities of new words appeared, so I thought that this position was correct. Any remaining infelicities would, I thought, be resolved through the requirement to change six letters. I know the final word of the quotation and how it is associated with the thematic block, of course, but its presumed orientation leaves me with some non-words, assuming that the bars in the printed grid are to be respected. It's early days, and I shouldn't get ahead of myself, although I think I should be behind in one respect.

[midazolam]

you are so nearly there speravi, everything you say sounds correct...

but be aware that you may be stumped at the present time, but heed my words and all the letters should make real words with the original bars.

[Speravi]

Thank you, midazolam, I'll take a break and look at it again tomorrow, noting your kind advice: I shall start by thinking about the way in which I'm stumped..

[Ythelon]

As per usual I am only proceeding slowly but it sounds as if the effort will be rewarded with the kind of PDM I have come to expect from Kea - that is when I can get as far as the PDM.

From the preamble it seems that the letters for the quotation are reached by adding the three numerical equivalents of the letters involved. Does this mean that there are no 'misprints' in unchecked cells?

[perseverer]

Unfortunately there are a number of unchecked misprints - have a look back through the earlier posts.

[Ythelon]

Thank you Perseverer; the earlier messages didn't register. I really mustn't get up so early in the morning and spend the rest of the day on autopilot.

[Speravi]

Thanks again to midazolam: following your advice, all fell into place properly (earlier I had been stumped at too low a level).

The finale is more elegant than I had supposed, and the overall construction is rather special. A hearty thank you to Kea for this composition.

[Scorpius]

I'm afraid I'm not as enthusiastic about this puzzle as others, despite some very clever clues and an intricate grid construction (though the assymetric grid and the misprints allowed the setter a lot of latitude). Working out the quotation in the manner precribed was just tedious, and finding 6 letters of the incomplete quotation (3 of them consecutive) coincided with unchecked cells, so could not be calculated, simply added to the frustration.

[cluelessJoe]

Maybe a little harsh Scorpius .. I just finished this after a few return visits, and found it quite astounding. Yes the grid was asymmetrical - which was probably the only way such an exquisite puzzle was going to find its way into the public domain, and yes the combination of misprints / letter number substitution looks clever whilst affording the setter a lot of necessary latitude .... but the overall concept and construction were executed remarkably well compared to some of the more mundane fare we have seen in recent months. Thanks Kea, and hearty congratulations to all who finished this challenge so early!

[JackDeCrow]

Firmly in the "that was pretty remarkable" camp. Two clues with their own PDMs for a start - 19a and 42d! But, oh, how I feel the need to do some shading!

[jamesah]

Another great puzzle from Kea which was well worth the three days spent on it! I always enjoy puzzles when new words appear. The new 10 letter one was fantastic. How does he do it?

[robinruth]

Yes, Clueless Joe's word sums up my response and I totally agree with JackDeCrow about the fingers itching to do some shading. How does he do it?

[u10]

I've just finished after five days hard slog. The puzzle was hard but fair and the final grid was amazing.
Can anyone explain 1d? I just can't see how the (fairly obvious) definition fits the rest of the clue. Many thanks.

[robinruth]

It had to be explained to me. Look up (in Chambers) the first two letters of your answer and all will become clear!

[u10]

Thanks robinruth. I should have looked up "to wit" in Chambers and not just "wit". I proves that in the Listener, every word counts!!

[Philoctetes]

Is the "last word" in a straight line or a relevant shape. Like others, I have a completed grid except for that, have a couple of non-words that I hope will become words - but only one place I can put in a straight seven letters at what I guess is the critical juncture but with only one empty square. And that just introduces more nonwords. My head is spinning

[alice50]

Okay, I've got the quotation out, and I can see the shape of the misprints, but I can't figure out how to move them - do they just move "as is" or do I have to change their orientation as well?

[robinruth]

Philocteles, consider the orientation of your object and Alice50, you have got the quotation - doing what it tells us about can only have one result in terms of orientation - I think it will become easier if you consider where you do the three letter word of the quotation (the action word).

[u10]

Philoctetes - think where a lot of Listener words are "hidden" in the grid. This one is no different. It can be found at a crucial part of the misprint movement.
alice - a lot of the left hand side of the grid contains no misprints (for a reason). Think about what is happening in the quotation which will explain how the shape moves. Also a key word in the preamble is MOST when referring to the movement of the misprints.

[failedagain]

Thank you, robinruth, for your restraint in providing gentle nudges so as not to spoil the fun of discovering things for oneself.