Listener 4127

[Ruthrobin]

Has no one started a thread? Is it because people are a little bit disappointed with this one? Perhaps there is some clever twist that I haven't seen.

[dr b]

Hi RR,

Yes, I felt this was not much to write home about. The method of entering the across clues can certainly be easily discerned without reference to the 8 down clues, so the endgame consisted of figuring out why the 8 words told me what I already knew. If there is some mind-blowing twist I haven't seen I'll happily change my mind. I suppose anything was going to be a letdown after last week.

[midazolam]

We have had quite a few good listeners this year that it becomes obvious when the mediocre ones surface. However I didnt like this one at all. Finished about two and a half hours ago, with a full grid and I still can't be bothered to find the link between the 8 words as it became obvious how to enter the across words early on. Let me know if I should pick it up again.

[contendo]

I seem to have filled the grid without understanding the theme or the title. Perhaps tomorrow will bring enlightenment.

[starwalker]

I'm about half way through the grid and still waiting for something to make me smile. Sorry Wasp, but this doesn't seem to be one of your best.

[silversolver]

I agree with all of the above! Fairly quick grid fill then a lot of time scratching my head trying to work out the relevance of the 8 words and the title.

[AHearer]

For some reason my mind isn't engaging properly and I'm making heavy weather of this. As the comments here don't promise much of a reward I think I won't waste any more of my weekend on it, and I'll pick it up on the train on Monday morning.

[trux]

AH : you are right ... pretty unexciting stuff ... really a race between whether you can work out the clues quicker than you can find the answers with Chambers Word Wizard ...

[bellabee]

and the answer is you can't - 3 and a half hours with the former method.

[pushmi-pullyu]

Like everyone else I've filled the grid but feel I must be missing something. Very humdrum clues and I still don't see the relevance of the 8 words, and can't really be bothered to go on looking.

[cluelessJoe]

Snap.
Sorry Wasp, didn't get it, and in the end didn't really care. I look forward to being pleasantly surprised when the explanation of the seemingly unnecesssary eight words is published. Unfortunate timing after last week's, but I guess some poor unfortunate had to follow it.

[bobbycollins]

I'm on the badwagon. Dull as owt.

I too cannot see the relevance of the 8 words and am puzzled by a couple of wordplays, but won't waste any more time on it.

[bellabee]

i don't think the clues are uniformly easy - roughly half are very simple but many of the rest are very difficult and i think that that is the problem here. also, one of the undefined clues is bordering on &lit and another produces two possible entries from the wordplay [which held me up because i started with the wrong one]- i am still trying to justify what must be the eighth, pretty sure of the entry but as long as there is that shadow of doubt i will try to fully complete this crossword.

[tilbee]

Ditto - though sure I will in any case try and work out the relevance of the 8 words.

[Zabadak]

Perhaps someone who knows would like to say that the eight words do have a relevance and do provide the entry method for the across answers, otherwise the rest of us might just be sitting with grids respectfully filled in, but (for example) not picked out in rainbow colours, or not sliced into polyhedra and glued back to back. Perhaps there's a subtle explanation for the wasp waist. I don't like "finishing" without either understanding the twist or the title, not least because I might not be finished at all.

[contendo]

But Zabadak it seems that no-one does know, or not on this thread anyway. I have an additional problem in that I only have 7 undefined down answers. The others all seem to have a definition in the clue. Anyone else have the same problem?

[TheBear69]

Contendo, I know which clue you What you think is the definition is part of the wordplay. If it was the definition then the wordplay would require that a single letter be an abbreviation for the 3rd word, but Chambers only supports a 2-letter abbrev. for that word.

I fear we are all missing some (hopefully ingenious) denoument which will invalidate our filled-in grids. I almost certainly have the same 8 words you all have but not only do I fail to see any relevance, but I fail to see how to partition them into two groups. And what is the title about? Why the 'notches' in the grid? I think it is also a red flag that one of my 8 words is not in Chambers as the preamble would normally warn about a word not being there.

[abns]

I've worked out the title (which makes sense given the grid entries but isn't overly exciting), but still no idea on the link between the eight words.

[tilbee]

Some progress - have managed to group 4 of the extra words, and derived a further word from these. Still do not have the theme.

[silversolver]

I think the "theme" is fairly obvious from the method of entry of the across clues which suggests a well known three word phrase (4,3,4); however, like others, I have not yet fathomed the the link to the 8 words and the title.

[contendo]

Yes, TheBear, I see your point. But I think Wasp might have avoided that ambiguity.