Listener Crossword No 4574 Well-Spoken By Miles

[perseverer]

Thanks to Miles, another setter new to the Listener?
The grid-fill was mostly straightforward, but there were some clever and imaginative clues. I have the theme, though I still haven't quite identified where a couple of its omitted letters are to be found and with the help of not one but two Wiki articles done the drawing. However the significance of the title and the unclued entries escapes me.

[Hagen]

I was surprised how quickly (by my standards anyway) I completed the grid, but of course that was the easy part. When I looked the theme up I had to check several times that I had the English page for the relevant Wiki article, for all the sense it made to me. I think I have worked it all out now, though I can't pretend I have anything more than the most superficial understanding of the theme. Once again, the Internet comes to the rescue!

I have no idea what, if any, significance the unclued answers possess, but that doesn't seem to affect the final result. A very good puzzle, which I quite enjoyed even though I am totally out of my depth in this field.

[Cruncher]

I think the title is no more than an allusion to the thematic person - but I am likewise a little mystified by the unclued entries although they help to confirm other clued entries

[NickorWan]

A lovely puzzle from Miles, who it seems is new to the Listener though Magpie solvers will be familiar with the name. (I particularly enjoyed the recent pangram reversal code puzzle.) Some wonderful inventive clueing I thought.

I am not sure whether or not the unclued entries are thematic in any way either, but it would all still make perfect sense if they weren’t (and be rather clever).

[upsetter]

An elegant puzzle with a well hidden theme and we are especially delighted with the hint provided by the unclued entries.

[PhilipW]

What a lovely puzzle - great fun to solve although I was much less familiar with the material than with Jean's stuff last week...I don't think I shall be making any corrections or edits to the relevant web pages. I only appreciated properly one of the early clues having completed the whole puzzle

[pushmi-pullyu]

You're way ahead of me Upsetter - I have no idea what the unclued entries are about. I think I'm done, but my total ignorance about the theme means I can't be sure.

[Cruncher]

Upsetter, me too. I was a little slow to see the obvious

[emcee]

Great puzzle with an interesting theme which I wasn't aware of.

The clues were good but I was mystified with the 12th clue why "climbing" had been used when it clearly was an across clue.

Thanks, Miles.

[contendo]

I thought some of the cluing was wonderfully concise, for instance the one starting "Live". The theme was new to me and I found it fun working it out on the grid, but that wasn't actually necessary for completion of the crossword.

[upsetter]

@pushmi-pullyu - The help from the unclued entries is hiding in plain sight.

[borealis]

Lovely. And even finished, and with upsetter's help, another 10 minutes to spot the obvious. Great fun. Now to chase down that missing wordplay letter.......

[Philoctetes]

Emcee - I took that as if "climbing" were part of the definition, not the wordplay.
On the other hand, given the general area in which we are floundering, how do we determine which of the shapes should have its centre marked? Indeed, which centre? Given the demand for precision, this is a somewhat imprecise aspect.

[emcee]

Hmm... The only snag with that, Philoctetes, is that we then have elements of the definition at each end of the clue which seems even worse!

Perhaps, "Climbing plant twisting around a spike" may been clearer?

[emcee]

may *have* been

[Hagen]

I agree with Emcee about the "climbing" clue. I thought it strange at the time of solving.

As for the unclued answers, I can now see what has been hidden in plain sight, but if I've got it right it's hardly a hint. A hint is supposed to help, and I get the impression that several solvers have been scratching their heads over this even after satisfying all the requirements of the puzzle. It reminds me of those time-wasting jokes like "how much earth is there in a hole in the ground that's 6.1 metres deep with a diameter of 4.7 metres?" Which I'm sure won't fool anyone here for a moment!

[sunny-dave]

A very decent carte-blanche crossword with some excellent clues too ...

... but completely spoilt by the ludicrous amount of geometrical dicking around required to actually complete the puzzle - I've done it, but heartily wish I hadn't bothered.

Bah and indeed Humbug