Listener No 4120, Cross Country by MynnoT

[Ruthrobin]

Am I destined to start another thread or are all the friends hiding somewhere else? What a great and well-set challenge this has been. The light has just dawned regarding the theme and how to obey the instruction. Yet another superb opening for the year's puzzles.

[silversolver]

Ha, ha Clamzy - very good!

[contendo]

Filled the grid, apart from 31ac, which I presume fits the definition, though I don't understand the wordplay. For those struggling with 29ac, the first two letters should make the answer pretty obvious, assuming you are familiar with the reference. As for the theme, I'm inclined to agree with Clamzy, but I'll keep at it.

[JackDeCrow]

Well, this is certainly intriguing. Have been staring at a completed grid for well over a day now and don't seem to be getting anywhere. Probably too fixated on one idea which would make sense of the instruction if I could find something appropriate but I can't. It's going to be tricky to get much work done this week until the p.d.'s!

[7lattens]

I am in the same situation (a part from missing 29a) - think I need to place a couple of brain cells in last week's apparatus to generate a PDM !!

[bicycleboy]

Wow. My first Listener Crossword - done for a challenge. (I usually do the Saturday Independent Magazine puzzle.) I filled in the grid yesterday but couldn't get the theme. Finally, the penny dropped a minute ago: brilliant!

[silversolver]

Congratulations, bicycleboy - not an easy one to start your Listener career (be warned, it is seriously addictive!). I also finally saw the light this evening - what a superb idea and construction.

[tenflags]

Curse you clever people for encouraging and sucking me into your vortex of time wasting infuriating pain /pleasure.

I'm glad that this isn't an 'easy' one as I have struggled and seemingly have followed a similar path to others ... doing about a third before plods-ville .. getting most of the rest but not 29, 31 or 36. but have 36 by virtue of other letters ( no I don't have collins or access to the online provided) and no I don't know the reference for 29.

I can guess which way to jump on 31 having an inkling about where this is heading although the exact theme (21) still alludes me.

Lunch in old smokey Monday so shall stare at grid (like others have done ) on train journey, and come back to last clues later.

Perversely comforting to know not everyone has finished.

[Ruthrobin]

Tenflags. 36 is also in the ODE (with a slightly reduced definition - but it will remove any doubt you may still have).

[Zabadak]

Came to this last, and facing one of those full grids where the answer is obvious to some (and even worked out before doing anything, apparently) but not to me. I'm probably trying too hard, but there seems to the uninitiated to be a lack of anything to grab on to. None of my lateral thoughts has yet paid off, either in respect of the title or of the theme and instruction.
No real problems with the clues, though had to do quite a bit of research before I could justify the fodder reference.
I'll keep on keeping on. Maybe someone on the board will oblige by being a bit indiscreet!

[Zabadak]

That should be "came to this late..." as I was, in a manner of speaking, on the lash and on the leash celebrating herself's birthday.

[Rhone]

Apologies if my earlier post misled anyone about the early part of the instruction "descending into gibberish". I had misled myself on the identity of the unentered letter to 23ac and once I corrected this, the others then began to fall into place. My mistake reminds me of my failure at the final fence on Sabre's most recent puzzle when I got the encoded/decoded version of a clue mixed up and was trying for a word of the form ?CH? when the answer I needed was VARE.

By the way, now have filled grid (thought 31ac was quite neat and have just confirmed answer to 36ac after a browse of the Collins in Waterstone's) but after a lot of staring I don't have the theme.

[rabet]

I too have a filled grid and the instruction but have no idea as to the theme, which I find very annoying after solving all the clues. Am I right in thinking that these "extra-mile" crosswords arose mainly to counter modern technology, which has made clue-solving much easier?

[cluelessJoe]

rabet, I think that the extra mile has been around for quite some time - it's the extra half-marathon which tends to cause big problems. However, check out the detail for Lip Service (Listener 2566 by Leon) - which in 1980 comfortably predated most tech. solving aids. Seems that the endgame was enough to trip up the only hitherto correct solver, as a result of which no correct entries were submitted!

http://www.listenercr...les/L2/L25/L2566.html

[bellabee]

here's a hint then - look symmetrically. it's easier to separate what not to highlight in this case.

[dead-eye]

enjoyed this a lot.clever finish.much more fun then quartet by MynoT last year.

[Ruthrobin]

I think the Answerbank has been very restrained so far and that we are fulfilling our self-imposed role of enjoying a veiled discussion with no over-explicit hints and now I am pontificating. I think we owe it to MynoT to continue that restraint. (I wonder, will that comment earn me a page of abuse - I am confident that I am echoing the feeling of a number of regulars!)

[Arcticpenguin]

S Matrix- Malta ? USA ? I thought it was going to be Trans-siberian Railway and went out for an extra bottle of Typex. Needn't have bothered as it's only 20 letters.

[bellabee]

i do think it is important to exercise restraint when dropping hints -[i hope i did so]. but there is also the danger of obfuscation too. i think a couple of early comments by the successful few may have been unhelpful - shifting the focus to a particular cell and the 21 or 22 letters debate for example rather over complicates this endgame.

[JackDeCrow]

Phew - penny finally dropped here. Can now stop chasing rivers and canals (with memory of a map of Venice a couple of years back), both of which appear tantalisingly around the edges!