Listener 4107 - European Revolutions by Spud

[daagg]

A lovely ending! The "19 letters" is quite funny.

[shelouse]

flocker, if you put the letters into Chamber's Word Wizard you will come up with a single answer. If this doesnt happen you must have got 1 or more wrong.

[Clamzy]

I hope "single answer" doesn't get interpreted as single word.

[flocker]

am I right in saying that there are far fewer "correct letters" in the Down clues?

[AndrewG-S]

flocker, there are certainly less, "far fewer" I guess is a matter of judgement, personally I would say no

[aldana]

Ta-Daa! Got there! Well, being very spatially challenged I had to rope in my husband for the last part. Can't be considered as cheating as there is at least one duo appearing in the Statistics. How did Spud ever begin to construct that?

[midazolam]

poorsolver - thank you for the update here, I didnt meet Viking's crosswords much, but enjoyed the 4000 listener a couple of years ago. What will happen to the editorial team of the listener now?

Yes I was a test solver for spud and I know he is scouring the comments here. On balance, I think this one can go down as being one of the better crosswords of the year, which he is very pleased about.

[trux]

Still in Asia, frustrated by multiple refusals by Times Crossword Club to log me in (and no access to my home e-mail), finally found a copy of the Saturday Times but it didn't have puzzle pages in .... all I can do is read all of your comments and wonder quite what Spud has done ! It's quite a good game, really ... trying to work out what the puzzle entails from afar with only the AB threads as clues ...

[Ruthrobin]

Trux, I understand your problem, as I was for a while in an identical position - overseas with my login details refused and no way to log in or get help. If you can find someone with an email address to which it could be sent, I would gladly help you

[flocker]

forced to throw in the towel on this one - I'm sure it's brilliant but I simply cannot unravel the "correct letters" for either the down or the scrambled clues.One or two of them simply won't make sense cluewise - 18 dn/21 ac/30 scr for example although I have the answers. I'm obviously overlooking a few small pointers - oh well, so nearly got there- but in the end life's too short to go on staring at this.

[BlackHugh]

flocker - I'm in the same boat as you - although I have the down word (and can see it)
But persevere - we have after all got a few more days before 4108!

[contendo]

As usual trailing the rest of the field, only partly explained by a couple of days in Scarborough for the new Ayckbourn (brilliant). I've got the down clues thematic element and found it in the grid (and another dislocated element above it). Also got the unscrambled puzzle from the scrambled clues, so I should be nearly there, but I can't make sense of the correct letters from the across clues apart from the initial word which obviously relates to the puzzle. Am groping in the dark.

[dead-eye]

hi all,very clever puzzle for a first time setter.only managed to solve it by finding the sixth element.most enjoyable.well done spud.

[Philoctetes]

I have a completed and altered grid, but I am having problems with highlighting. Thirty-six of the relevant cells I can see in the traditional way, but eighteen of them do not have any traditional correspondence. Do I highlight as I find them, or have I missed an alternative that fits the traditional construction?

[perseverer]

Philoctetes - have you amended 19 cells? If so, you should not be having the problem you have.

[Philoctetes]

Yes - I have 19 cells changed. One of the examples I have a problem with is the unaltered one from the down clues - that cannot be highlighted in the traditional way. And I am also at a loss how to highlight another example which on first sight also does not belong in the traditional set but can be just about made to fit, though it then becomes impossible to highlight.
I do love trying to be very obscure:)

[Ruthrobin]

Philoctetes, as people have said earlier, you'll have to borrow your son's coloured pencils or nip down to the stationers.

No, Contendo, It sounds as if you are almost there. You just need to do a bit of spatial geometry to relate what you have to the grid. The element you have gives you the starting point you need. Clearly, you need more like that and if you remember that you are highlighting 54 squares in all, you know how many more you need and roughly where they should be (especially as you have found another).

[AndrewG-S]

philioctetes, I am not sure if your tangential remarks are driving at this but the highlighting does not follow the common thematic format

[perseverer]

Philoctetes - apologies for failing to understand your problem! By the time I had finished my appropriate highlighting I was having trouble reading some of the answers.

[serpentinew]

A work of true beauty - with the final step being geometrically and numerically in keeping with the solving the original puzzle. A masterful debut Spud.

[the_heisman]

what an excellent idea and constructionwhich i had not seen before - but following last week's crimefighters (where I have to say the AB was a little too helpful) it is another Sunday finish which is a record for me.