Listener 4165, Variation on a Theme by Nibor

[dr b]

Not much here to cause any grief this week, I think. Not too high on the difficulty scale, but enjoyable anyway.

Now I have no excuses for the afternoon and will be forced to finally clean out my gutters. 65 degrees today - 40 on Sunday. I guess I'll get busy.

[rabet]

Thanks, Philoctetes!

[word_cross]

I have a full grid and a very good inkling of the significance of the highlighting, but still have to iron out exactly which cells end up highlighted as there seem to be a few choices to be made... still pondering

[Zabadak]

I think with the highlighting here IS an ambiguity. Given the nature of the two words, there is no obvious reason why you shouldn't stop when you've found one of them. It's perfectly satisfying so to do.

[iamamoose]

Zabadak - but such a solution might leave you feeling rather unresolved

[Zabadak]

'fraid not. If I see a solution that answers (arguably), all the conditions (it matches the words, it looks like the theme) then why would I bother to look further? Take last week's numeric: most people who tried it and got to the end might well have felt "is that it?" and there was discussion here as to whether there was something else to look for. Nothing in the preamble suggested that there was, so that's it, then, another Listener "resolved". With this one, I don't think the wording of the preamble is tight enough to make me look further. The discussion here suggests there may be "more". I'll doubtless find out (or not) when the solution is published. Meanwhile, I've put it away as "resolved".

[TheBear69]

Zabadak, I have not figured out the highlighting but I think that if one only highlights one of the words then that highlighting would not be "in a manner representative of the original theme", but since I have not figured this out, it's only a surmise on my part.

[JackDeCrow]

Still waiting for the P to properly D here as far as the highlighting is concerned, but in the meantime it's the wordplay to 1ac that is perplexing me.

[jim360]

Then again, in what way does one of the words look like the theme? If you have the right answer, then clearly you need the other word to "complete" the highlighting.

[perseverer]

Jack - check letters 2-5 in the BRB

[iamamoose]

Yes , Zabadak - I see your point. But I feel the preamble is well-worded once you have realised how the highlighting so perfectly 'represents' the theme..

[TheBear69]

The penny just D'd...I had thought of something along those lines but for some reason I could not spot it until just now. Phew!

[JackDeCrow]

Thanks perseverer. Strangely, I had done that with the electronic version, but only got a prank. Having now looked in the real thing, it makes a lot more sense!

[serpentinew]

What a pleasing endgame even if it did take me a couple of days to spot it

[Zabadak]

For iamamoose: That's my point really. It's "well worded" if the particular penny drops. But I had a PDM at (probably) a different point (it's difficult to establish that without some currently taboo specifics). With my penny dropped, albeit perhaps with a slightly less resounding clunk (don't really know that either), I don't accept the need to go further. Is there a better answer? Maybe. Does my answer satisfy the wording of the preamble? Too right it does. It may not be what Nibor intended, but if you're going to write cutesy, oblique preambles, you must expect people to get hold of another branch of the same stick and cheerfully say "hey look! I got a stick!"

[TheBear69]

Zabadack unless your highlighting is in representative of the original theme, then it does not satisfy the wording of the preamble

[AndrewG-S]

but maybe by the wrong end...

[iamamoose]

i see Zabadak's point.. you can get to a stage where reading the preamble in a purely technical way, you've done it. ..but one of the nice things about the Listener is, if you feel unsatisfied by your solution, you're certainly right. To quote De Niro in 'Ronin'......."if there is any doubt..then there is no doubt"

[word_cross]

still head-scratching - my 'representative manner' is too good not to be true, but I can't get the 'first two words' to fit it :-/

[JackDeCrow]

Oh, very good. So not what I was thinking!

[IainGrace]

P has now D'd in this household. Very enjoyable. Only mild observation is that, if one were lucky in plumping for one or two of a couple of highlighting options, one might stumble on the correct highlighting without having a clue as to what is going on.