Listener 4162 Carte Blanche with a Twist by Mash

[starwalker]

Judging from the dearth of postings, others are also finding this less than a walkover - pretty much as foretold.
I'm still working on paragraph one of the preamble and an odd assortment of answers. Friday Night Club maybe, but probably next Friday.

[JackDeCrow]

Phew - got there in the end! That hidden message may not be required for submission, but there's no way I would have had a clue what was going on without it. A crossword so clever that now I know what it was all about I still barely understand it!!

[tenflags]

Looks like I am climbing into the boat as others are climbing out..
15x10 but no clash, understand form, but can't find words I was expecting ...
time for a cuppa to re-think.

[Rogue-Elfe]

Ook!
Not having had much time over the weekend, I've still managed to solve 13 of the clues 'cold', but struggling on the rest. Now I've seen these comments, all hope of solving this before Saturday (and the next puzzle) seems gone. Still, I'm not submitting them now even if I do get a solution (I'll start that again in the new year) so for me it's moot anyway.
Thing is, I'd love to see what everyone is raving about before it's revealed...so, 4ac... ... ....

[Cruncher]

Having rather better fortune after rereading the preamble and realising that the original grid is 30 rows and 10 columns and not the other way round. Anybody else make that mistake? Still a way to go though!

[jim360]

I now have a complete 15*10 grid, one clash, and, although they are annoyingly separate, I can see the two words that together describe the form I was expecting. So I think I must have it. If so... an incredible puzzle!

[Walterloo]

Well done jim360, you seem to have come along in great leaps since you started these Listener critters.

I, however, still have a clash to find. I don't hold much hope finding it, but then I am at work.

[fyellin]

Okay, I was wrong when I thought I had the clash before. Bug in my grid.

I just discovered the actual clash, and all I can say is WOW. This more than makes up for the ugliness of the down-clue entries.

[em_and_em]

Long-time thread-follower, first-time poster...

I have the completed grid and clash - amazing concept! Struggling to find the hidden message though (and struggling to imagine that there could still be more that this grid could possibly reveal!)

[dr b]

em_and_em, congratulations on 1) completing the puzzle, and 2) waiting for two years after joining the site to post your first answer. I also prefer to take a measured and deliberate approach to things.

That said, I, like RR, jumped the gun with my post declaring victory; upon further review I did not get it completely sorted out till I looked at it again over the weekend. If there was every a puzzle where pondering every word in the preamble was critical, this was it.

[tilbee]

Playing catch up - after leaving it for a while had some inspriration last night and now have a 15x10 grid, but still no sight of a clash or 11 letters,

[tilbee]

OK 11 letters found but these do not yet fully meet the conditions of the preamble. Still a little way to go I fear.

[jim360]

Yes I have that puzzle too - my 11-letter message describes what I have got pretty well exactly (or, rather, implies the rule that makes the down entries work) which surely is no coincidence. But... it doesn't have a right-to-left bit anywhere that I can see.

Hence my doubts. But, well, what I have got so far is too good not to be true. Even my number sort of fits in with things fairly well. Maybe will have to content myself with an anxious wait to see if I was right or not.

[aldanna]

We think we have everything apart from the hidden message, but as ever, thinking it might be done probably means there is a flaw somewhere.

[contendo]

I just got my computer back from the computer hospital and read through this thread. I'm full of admiration for you all. I started on Saturday and cold-solved 9 clues, after which nothing. Maybe I should stick to the kiddies' puzzles.

[jim360]

Ah, as expected, I was in the same boat as everyone else, ie almost there, but not quite. I thought there was something missing - and now I know what as someone's corrected my mistake.

Oh well.

[jamesah]

Congratulations to all who have finished this! I have got a 30x10 grid completed but I don't understand the symmetry required. If someone would be kind enough to e-mail me the square where 1 across starts I would be most grateful ([email protected]). I have absolutely no idea what the rest of the preamble means so unfortunately Mash's brilliance is wasted on me!

[tilbee]

Eureka ! Doh ! Wow ! Phew !

Mixed reactions at finally cracking this. A brilliant workout from Mash but feel there were some obvious clues staring at me in the face all along.
Final step finally arrived after a long day at work.

Must disagree with RR's initial promise - this was certainly as tough as anticipated.

PS: Bellabee do you still follow this thread - this would have been right up your street :-)

[BlackHugh]

contendo - If it is of any consolation: I have been looking at a completed 30x10 initial grid since Saturday evening but cannot, as yet, get any further :-(
(for anyone else - no hints please)

[contendo]

BlackHugh - Well I've got another 2. Only another 19 to go before I catch you up. At this rate the answer will be published before I finish.

[sunny-dave]

@contendo - absolute cold solving is painful - concentrate on getting 1A and 1D and start looking at some tentative filling of the 30x10 grid - that's how I made some fairly rapid progress.