Listener Crossword 4117 Great Expectations by Samuel

[Zabadak]

Not finished yet, but I've got grid B, so I know two things already. There's an awful lot of pretty close to cold solving in Grid A, and I've got to get a bigger print out to have any kind of chance with the instruction. Best of luck, everyone.

[AndrewG-S]

thanks everyone, i now have the christmas special - it is quite fun

[Rogue-Elfe]

Jumbo, but no Listener, as Contendo surmised.
Just hope when I open the paper on Nwe Year's Day, it won't be 4119! (Unless the crossword is somehow thematically linked to the complete absence of 4118 - wouldn't that be kinda cool...)

[mike11111]

Where is this week's Jumbo? I bought the Times on Friday expecting one for the holiday, but just the usual weekday puzzles.

[IainGrace]

Eventually finished this, save for the final mechanics. Struggled at first, especially with the cold solving in Grid A due to the large number of clashes (don't think that's giving much away) but eventually it came to us, as it were.

Can't help admiring the ingenuity while wishing for a few weeks of no encodling, no numbers and no desecration of the paper.

Belated Christmas greetings and Blianadh Bha Ur when it comes.

[cluelessJoe]

Iain - you clearly don't subscribe to Magpie then - wherein everything you wish for certainly does not come true.

For those who can't get enough of encoding, numbers and weilding scissors (and a whole lot more besides) - http://www.piemag.com/

Blianadh Bha Ur

[Clamzy]

What's this Bigbanana stuff - Welsh??