Listener 4147 OZ and WR by Theod

[starwalker]

Having seen that this has a Playcode code, I was intending to put it to one side. Having failed at that, I now find myself within an ace of finishing. Much easier than I expected, but I realise that for some that this will be a bete noir.
Thanks Theod.

[dr b]

Very quick grid fill, save for the 4 unchecked coded squares; I've never seen a Playfair before and look forward to cracking it - on Monday. Off to the airport shortly, for the first of several pickup/deliveries; house guests all weekend!

[aldanna]

Not in the Friday club, but I also have a full grid apart from the 4 unchecked squares. However, unlike drb. I do not at all look forward to dealing with the Playfair code (virtually zero chance of success for me, I think). Not my scene at all. This is the point at which I hand over to Himself.

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, in the same position with the playfair to work out. How interesting that we were given that long playfair explanation this time!

[AHearer]

I'm a step behind those above, I think, in that I have the full-but-four grid but have so far only solved one of the clues with coded entries. Nil desperandum (which is Latin for "another glass of Shiraz and it won't matter").

[dr b]

Well, mainly by ignoring my brother for half an hour or so I was able to get the codeword. Is it cheating to use one of the many Playfair crackers on the web? If so, I cheated. Ah well, the weekend is now clear.

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, I got there too, DrB. I am sure most of us use the playfair code-breaker on the Internet. (Aldanna, look at Quinapalus - it helps in these cases.) I really think this would be a nightmare without it. If that counts as cheating, then surely any use of the web to help us learn unfamiliar themes etc. would be cheating and I believe that is one of the riches of the Listener crossword. So often it takes me into uncharted ground.

[Zabadak]

My oath, that's cheating! What an absolutely splendid programme that is! thank you so, so much! Never again will my heart drop when the dreaded 5X5 grid appears with that long-winded explanation (I'm sure the "how playfair works" is usually included RR).
In the past, I've relied (usually disastrously) on "how to solve a playfair" sites and solved about one in four, never driven to anything less than distraction in the process. Three cheers for this Son of Colossus which needs so little info to resolve. Cheating? You bet! Sheepish? Nah - and not dribblingly brain-fried either.
And while we're at it, what a weird theme word that is, with just a teeny nod back to last week.
Regards and deep, deep thanks to all.

[silversolver]

Yes, enjoyable and not too difficult (although would have been if I had not also used one of the aforementioned "cheating" websites). Indeed, Zabadak, a very weird word and a new one for me. I thought the surface reading of some of the clues was excellent and raised a few smiles, particularly 29. Thanks, Theod.

[starwalker]

Before the days of software packages, Mrs Starwalker was always bemused to find 25 Scrabble tiles kept separate from the rest. Such is progress.

[AndrewG-S]

My first playfair, so took a bit of a gulp when I first saw it. Grid fill was very kind though and got through the playfair without the internet cheats in about 20 minutes. I would comment that the letters in the playfair encoded words were really very generous narrowing down the options very quickly. For those put off by the playfair don't be this is great fun and pretty gentle. Another new and splendid word for me too. Thanks Theod

[Paula]

This was my first playfair and I was dreading it! (RR - thanks for the reference to quinaplus, without which I would have struggled). Still have to find the final modification and unsure of one part of the definition of 5 down but it was fun.

[midazolam]

I agree. I didn't think I would be able to get to this until Sunday but managed it in the early hours without the BRB. I also didn't recognise the theme word and luckily google books found me the word by searching for the definition.

Very enjoyable with several clues raising a smile. 1998 was Theod's last Listener, well worth the wait.

Regarding cheating, we are in a technological age and the majority of solvers use the Internet to help with themes e.g. Wikipedia. I don't see a problem. Quinapalus, apart from giving you the codeword, is also good for anagrams, composite anagrams, misprints and word matching with unknown letters. Once the codeword is got this site is excellent at encoding and decoding words.

http://www.crosswordman.com/cgi-bin/playfair

[cluelessJoe]

I see it as more timesaving than cheating to use such tools. The last time I solved a playfair solo was a Listener entitled (I think) 'Splashdown to re-entry' a couple or more years back. Not a big deal as AGS said, and maybe thirty minutes' effort. However, this one, and others, on quinapalus take seconds to decode. All those extra half hours might just prove to have been well used over the course of a lifetime (I'm yet to decide what to do with them)

[IainGrace]

Can I be the first on Answerbank to complain that this week's puzzle is neither too hard nor too easy.....

[dr b]

IainGrace, only if we can call you "Goldilocks"....

Glad to hear that using Quinaplus is considered fair game. Maybe the next time we get one of these and I am not pressed for time, I will try the AndrewGS method.

By the way, those of you who follow my every movement with keen interest will want to note in your diaries that I will be gone for the next two puzzles, off on my annual Sierras trek. Our schedule has us on top of Mt Whitney, 14500 ft, cut off from the world, on the day that the US may well default on its debt. I can think of no better place to be......

Happy solving in the meantime.

[trux]

Spot on, IG. Mostly gentle clues, cheat to find code-word, enjoy oneself using to do the encoding/decoding (no point cheating any more - it just takes the fun away), Google resultant definition and Eureka !!! All very satisfactory. Hands up anybody who previously knew of this word's a) existence and/or b) meaning ? So, an education, too. A purple spot in the grey matter, IMHO. Many, many thanks all round, Mr. Theod.

[Patch49]

I was going to rely on Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane who explained how to solve Playfairs in Have his Carcass, but if there's an on-line solver.....

[AndrewG-S]

I should add that the AndrewGS method for solving was born out of pure ignorance that Quinalplus could also offer this service. drb enjoy the trip - sounds great.

[Rogue-Elfe]

Yeah, got this one, with the help of...oh, you've heard it before on this thread, well, I don't care...Quinapalus. Thanks again RR.
To think that only one english word resolves this playfair codeword, given only four letters in cipher and the corresponding ones in plaintext! I used the other set of four I (originally) had to confirm it!
And no, I haven't heard of the themeword either. If it came up on Call my Bluff, the mind boggles as to what they'd think of for the two false definitions!

[fyellin]

I'm surprised that the quinapalus Playfair solver allows unknown letters in the plaintext but not in the ciphertext. Usually its the other way around: I know the full plaintext, and just a few letters of the ciphertext.

I have my own Playfair solver that I wrote the last time there was a Listener Playfair. A plaintext word and three letters of its ciphertext were sufficient to determine the key word.

Overall, a nice puzzle. Not too hard; not too easy; and a nicely crafted ending.