Listener 4085: Atom Smasher by Llig

[Zabadak]

Though there's another thread on on 4095, and I've contributed to it, this might help get the conversation started, though I suspect not a long one. There really isn't much to this (sorry Llig, and thanks anyway). I feared at one point that the clashes would be entirely random, but it does resolve in a way that lets you check the dodgier entries, and that you've got the clashes right. Not my favourite for the year so far: I'm off to Mahler 8 on the BBC. Happy solving everyone!

[daagg]

... or if someone, not particularly articulately, was asking someone for something - "d' y' 'ave a ...?"

Time to move on, I think.

[contendo]

I agree this one's a bit pedestrian, but I didn't find it easy. Never understood the wordplay at 2d. There are two possible misprints for 12d, both defining the answer. Naturally I picked the wrong one, which floored me for a while.

[silversolver]

contendo - it is difficult to give too many hints about 2d without giving the game away but I suggest you have a look around your answer in Chambers

[contendo]

OK. Got it. Pretty sneaky.

[Philoctetes]

Aaaargh - off thread panic here. Disaster narrowly avoided. While tidying the house this afternoon at 17:09, found last weeks grid unfilled in and obviously unposted. Could have sworn.... Last post at 17:30 (has to be in by tomorrow). Narrowly scraped it. Phews all round.

[midazolam]

...and with Royal Mail's often impeccable timing...it should be there by Saturday!

[tbayliss]

I finally got through this one but the instructions given by the misprints are a bit ambiguous. Do you fill in the clashing squares or leave them blank?

[tbayliss]

Doh! Realised my mistake in the misprints. It is clear after all - and the title is explained. All very neat and I for one found it an enjoyable challenge. A few clues were pretty straightforward but i think these are needed to encourage the solver and get him started before the real stinkers. The clashes and misprints combined made it very tricky and quite a few clues that people who have solved it aren't sure of - I'm still baffled by 2d and one or two others. Well done Llig (or Rev Gill?)

[Scorpius]

I didn't start this until very late in the week, finishing yesterday evening, so this is my first look at this thread. I'm surprised how many negative comments there are. I thought it was perfectly good Listener of the traditional variety, even if it's not an Ascot cup winner. Admittedly the surfaces of some clues were creaky, but in my case the theme didn't emerge until quite late, so getting the last few answers was quite tough, which made up for an easy start.

I have no problem with the presence of non-words in the final grid (standard Listener stuff). Unless I've missed a comment, nobody's pointed out the rather nice feature that ALL the clashing letters are thematically significant.

[IainGrace]

We agree with Scorpius. Not the puzzle of the year but some criticisms seemed to us slightly churlish. The more you get into it, the slower the process, as one has inevitably solved the clues without clashes first. Took us a little while to get to the PDM (about which, admittedly, we kicked ourselves when we got it) but the complete symmetry of the used and unused clashing letters is pleasing.