Listener 4161 To Have and Have Not by Lavatch

[Eril]

Anyone else have a problem with too many extras of a certain letter?

Very enjoyable puzzle, though haven't entirely understood all of the thematic treatments. Thanks Lavatch (and if solvers enjoyed that one then Lavatch did a very difficult Spectator recently)

[jim360]

Well maybe that is why I am finding this one so hard... because it is! I'll work on it some more tomorrow I expect but might end up having to pass if it takes too long to break through - and dreading next week's I guess...

[AHearer]

I was late getting started on this, but I thought it was a delight. A quick fill of the left-hand side screeched to a halt on the right. Well, not a halt but at best a crawl. The clueing was tight but not too easy, and I really enjoyed the varied ways in which the thematic material appeared. A really clever construction: thank you, Lavatch.

[sunny-dave]

Thanks for the link Eril - another very enjoyable Lavatch puzzle ...

<For another (comparable) Lavatch try http://www.spectator....7075893/crossword.pdf
>

[sunny-dave]

http://www.spectator....7075893/crossword.pdf

[pushmi-pullyu]

Grid filled, alteration made, one of the jumbled words fine. I know what I want the other one to be but the letters aren't quite right.

[emcee]

After a dumb Friday night frequently twiddling with my lower lip I have finally solved it. What a brilliant puzzle: tough clues, plenty of thematic material and an exquisitely neat construction. Definitely one of the best of the year for me.

[Walterloo]

Started this today. Enjoying the challenge of this one. This is just the kind of Listener I like. No idea of the theme yet but I'm making good progress.

[AndrewG-S]

Lovely series of PDMs and fine cluing on this one. Thematics were pretty much part of my degree course so fun to have this sort of thing covered for a change too. Good to break the run of easier puzzles with a bit of a tougher one. Sounds like this is just a bit of training for next weeks stinker. How many think they are still All Correct so far for the year? Many thanks Lavatch.

[aldanna]

A series of pleasing pdm's this morning, culminating in my accidentally saying the final words needed during a discussion of the end bit. Very clever and neat - I enjoyed this one.
Yet again Ruthrobin has inside information, about next week this time - current theory here is that she is Mrs JE Green

[perseverer]

aldanna - Don't think there is any great secret about Ruthrobin's identity - if you go to

listenwithothers.com

you can read her weekly blog on the Listener.

[emcee]

Andrew G-S, I've submitted them all this year but believe I have at least one wrong (it depends upon how it has been marked). It sounds as though next week's puzzle will also be my downfall.

Does anyone have any further info on next week's puzzle? How was the news broken in Magpie?

[aldanna]

Thank you, perseverer. That sounds interesting.

[Ruthrobin]

No, indeed not Mrs Green! Mr Green disapproves totally of this thread and steers very wide of it. With this week's Magpie sending (it comes as a downloadable pdf with a brief courteous email) we were told that one of the Magpie team was author of next week's crossword and that it had been announced to us some time ago. When we followed up that link, we learned not only that it is a Mash (invariably tough) but also a carte blanche.

[dr b]

Let me dissent ever so slightly and say that while this was a fine puzzle I thought it was on the easier side of the ledger, and the endgame did not bedazzle me. But, clever and well constructed as always - in other words, a perfectly average Listener, which is of course praising with faint damns.

Given the genial tone of the thread so far, perhaps this post is enough to take home the Zabadak Cup for the week? It would look so nice on the mantel next to my Nobel Prize.

[tilbee]

Dr B, If we were to take the puzzle of median difficulty this year to date, I still think this one would still come out in the upper 50%. The number taking multiple sititings over several days have been few and far between, though it sounds like we may be in for one next week.

Though not on the difficulty level of a carte blanche with no numbers, the level of clueing and determination of thematic treatment of RHS still sets some challenges, though guess this all depends on our individual experience.

PS: RR what is a Mash ?

[midazolam]

Mash is AJ Moore, one of the editors of The Magpie. Although he has only set one Listener before (2006), which was before my time, I have had the pleasure to solve some of his excellent Magpie puzzles that he has created. If next week's Listener is comparable to any of these then we are in for a treat.

[contendo]

As for me, I'm still stuck where I was yesterday in the right half. In particular I have found only 2 possible 10-letter words for 16A and neither fits any possible definition. Time to call it a day I think.

[AndrewG-S]

drb, I think you may be the only one in the running at the moment...

[tilbee]

Thanks for the clarification Midazolam. I had feared that perhaps a 'Mash' was a technical crossword term for a solution where every answer had to be anagrammatized or similar, which combined with a carte blanche sounded somewhat of a challenge.

I look forwards to next week..erm.. I think.

[Philoctetes]

Well I am suffering from what is technically known as a brain fart Three answers and not a clue as to any of the others Could be connected with waking up with a migraine Thoroughly not enjoying