Listener Crossword 4555 Prime Cuts By Ioa

[12barblues]

Well, tough again. A couple of times I was stuck for a way forward only to find that a clue only leads to a fraction of the legitimate answers expected and a nice interplay of clues and deductions on the partitioned primes. Very glad however to find it all drop out first time, don’t think I’d have had the energy to backtrack. The first Listener I completed was a numerical due to the pure logical nature of many of them, so I keep a soft spot for them. Thanks IOA.

[PhilipW]

I was startled by how much information one specific clue (which looked an almost useless clue on first reading) actually gave...(don't want to be more specific to avoid a spoiler). One advantage of the quarterly number puzzles is that they at least leave plenty of time after solving for the gardening. I agree that if one tried to attack a clue in the wrong order, it would waste plenty of time. Thanks IOA for the puzzle.

[crosswhit99]

… and of course the preamble provides essential information which is extremely useful when working out whether options are compatible with the partitioning. A most enjoyable puzzle, thanks IOA :-)

[emcee]

Probably the toughest numerical since Radix's Boxes. At least I didn't need to write code to help solve this one, although my poor calculator has had to work overtime.

Satisfying once the pain is over. Thanks, IOA.

[icynorth]

This was going to be my first missed puzzle for 4 years, but I took it off the spike today and it eventually worked through. Oddly, in the end four clues were entirely redundant.

These puzzles teach me patience and discipline like nothing else ever can. It's such a shame it wears off after 3 months. Thanks IOA!