Listener 4046: Disagreement by Stan

[turnerjmw]

Enjoyable, and far less taxing than last week. No doubt the theme will not please everybody, but it's very prettily executed, with great economy and no ambiguity.

[turnerjmw]

TO as for, YE as the old (an old spelling of the), R as number one in relief inside, without the extra O.

[midazolam]

pleasant debut from stan, but we were never going to get the same elegance as last week.

Be careful of listenerite et al, we haven't heard from them lately. i have lost the energy after a long weekend working to re-ignite that petty tirade

[u10]

Thanks turnerjmw - "ye" was the problem!

[Clamzy]

The old the is not "t"

[Clamzy]

Sorry folks - I posted after 20 and didn't go to next page.

[turnerjmw]

Thanks for the reminder, midazolam. I realised as soon as I'd posted. These threads are so much more agreeable in "their" absence that they deserve far more attention to the protocols than I gave, so my apologies.

[cluelessJoe]

Quite a cute little number, though I wonder how some people can get excited about certain themes. Personally I would not have given this quotation / episode a second look even if it had been writ large in red paint on my house wall. Nevertheless nicely executed!

[shelouse]

I have the quotation and know what it is all about, and the name of the person who disagreed with the claim but it seems to me that there is some ambiguity about exactly what the subject to be written underneath the grid is. Is it the very specific thing under discussion or a term - I know of two - for this type of thing?

[u10]

I went for the specific thing - ****

[jamesah]

I thought that it was an interesting theme because I find numbers fscinating. Some tricky cluing; I still don't understand some of them but will wait for Gregson if I can't work them out with more thought.

[perseverer]

jamesah, I've completed the puzzle and resolved all the word play, I think, except 15d. which baffles me completely.

A neat enough puzzle but I'm not convinced the subject is interesting enough to deserve devoting the undoubted effort that went into its construction.

[shelouse]

Thanks, u10, I am inclined to agree. Have just realised that the other party arguing about it could also be shown in the grid, but without using the enclosed cells, which is untidy - I suppose it was intended to be a trap for the unwary.

[u10]

perseverer - the definition for 15d is the first word of the clue. The wordplay starts with an abbreviation followed by two letters and then an old fashioned word for "outside". Hope this helps.

[turnerjmw]

perseverer, if you look up the last four letters of your answer you may find enlightenment

[perseverer]

Thanks u10 and turnerjmw.


Memo to self - look up words, no matter how unlikely.

[x_word_fan]

As a number puzzle enthusiast I liked it, particularly the significance of the cells in which the doules occurred.

I assume I am correct in finding a place in the middle column for the initial letter of his first name?

[x_word_fan]

Oops! I meant doubles.

[x_word_fan]

Ignore that post about the first letter - I've just seen my error.

[emcee]

I liked this puzzle. Some of the clues were tough but fair -- there were very few obscure answers but many which were constructed using obscure definitions.

I don't think there is any ambiguity as to what should be written beneath the grid. The preamble does say the contents of the cells lead to the *derivation* of the subject.

I don't remember Stan compiling a puzzle before but let's hope there are more in the future. I'm impressed!

[7lattens]

99.99 pct there - the relevance of the positioning of the double letters certainly made me smile - my remaining problem is agreeing the final letter of 21D with the fourth letter of 34A - suggestions to avoid a sleepless night gratefully accepted.