Hi! I've consulted this discussion page for some months (if possible after finishing the puzzle, but sometimes desperately seeking hints!)
I found this puzzle fairly easy (didn't get far enough with the previous one to persevere), but if I'm honest it was my daughter, home for Easter, who spotted the precise theme and saw how the highlighted entries would be arranged in the grid, possibly saving me hours.
I used Chambers and Chambers Words. I sometimes resort to a 'crossword solver' link which clearly uses a good enough dictionary to be useful for Azeds and Listeners. (It offers anagrams and possible words for partial answers along the lines of 'a.sw.r b..k'). I find it amusing that Listener solvers intent on coming top of the form use more elaborate electronic aids, yet object to this forum. I suspect this reflects their upbringing, and wonder if there's a similar cultural shift in the way I remember always doing homework on my own, while my daughter's generation clearly consult and collaborate more (while still respecting warnings about plagiarism and valuing individual achievement in exam papers).