Listener 4864 Board Of Trade By Deuce

[emcee]

A steady, enjoyable solve. Just right for the Easter weekend.

It was an excellent representation of the theme and I thought the setter's constraints should have been rewarded by making the optional part compulsory!

Nicely done. Thanks, Deuce.

[Ionexch]

Fully agree emcee - Hat off to Deuce! Only just got the possible amount due.

[HawkCrossword]

Yes, I agree it would have looked better if "it needn't be shown" had been "it must be shown". There was a puzzle a few years ago with a similar level of complexity in that area.

The jumbled strings gave the theme away pretty quickly, and I can't see an easy way around that. Still, it was a fun solve, and even forgoing symmetry, the setter had to cope with some quite obscure words to clue, and did a fine job. Thanks, Deuce.

[Cruncher]

I'm in the grumbly corner this week. Enjoyed the gridfill, not least because I had no idea what was going until I examined the letter changes, and was happy about the instruction. But for me the final stage was a case of GWIS, and it was only when I noticed the 6-letter abbreviated reference that I then realised where we had arrived in the first place - and therefore what was due. In retrospect it might have been better to follow the earlier instruction and not show the thematic properties which threw me off the scent. Anyway, always like an excuse to ransack the stationary drawer.

[NobleRoman]

I have solved all clues but cannot understand the replacement of the initial letters of the 5 additional words.  I have tried many ways to interpret the instruction but all led to 5 non-word in the grid - is that right?

[Keepatit]

It creates an eight-letter word, but does leave non-words in the grid, so if you've done that you are correct

[NobleRoman]

Thanks Keepatit - should have been alert to that one