Listener 4282: Coordinated By Mr Lemon

[AHearer]

Sad to see a farewell crossword from Mr Lemon: I had not picked up the fact that he had died. A nice puzzle to remember him by though, with lots of nice clues and a final step that had me chasing around a bit to verify it.

[starwalker]

I am not surprised that there was an early finish on this as the grid fill was moving quite smoothly, but alas, the rugby has a stronger pull. This will now be put aside until tomorrow.

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, Mr Lemon died last year, soon after the Listener dinner and is sadly missed (though Samuel has taken over the EV editorship and is doing a sterling job).
Indeed, this has been a most enjoyable fill, and the quotation, of course, helped, and, indeed, the final step has me chasing to verify it!

[jim360]

Mr Lemon/ James Leonard has featured surprisingly often in my journey into themed crossword solving and setting. His "Inn Joke" was the first non-numerical Listener I solved, and indeed he was also the Editor of the EV series when I submitted my first compiled puzzle too. I'm doubly grateful to him, then, for introducing me to both solving and setting, and it's perhaps a shame that I never really had the chance to tell him as much in person.

Having guessed who the inventor might be early on, I was somewhat surprised to find the unclued entry to be what it was. Still, I learned something new, which is obviously not worth complaining about. A final thank-you, then, to Mr. Lemon.

[Zabadak]

Funnily enough, I got it the other way round, but then I didn't try for the unclued entry until I had very little left to solve, and even then associated it with someone else altogether, not strictly an inventor. Mind you, I didn't immediately think of our target for the day as an inventor, and only confirmed when I looked for, and immediately spotted, his quotation. For a carte blanche, this was surprisingly generous, those co-ordinates being more helpful than anticipated. Not a 40 word cold solve jigsaw, thanks to Mr Lemon.

[emcee]

I shall miss Mr. Lemon's puzzles. I remember his more gentle thematic crosswords in the early days of the Independent magazine and it was these that really got me interested.

This last offering was far from straightforward although progress was steady - thank goodness for some anagrams to get the gridfill started.

I didn't have any problem with the quotation but the invention was surprisingly awkward.

Thanks to Mr. Lemon.

[perseverer]

Like others, I suspect, spent some time heading off in the wrong direction, but in the end BRB confirms if you look hard enough.

[s_pugh]

An enjoyable puzzle and the endgame had me confused for a while as I'd picked up on the quotation early and like others had then proceeded on a chase after those feral aquatic birds. Teach me to put too much faith in Wikipedia! As Perseverer rightly says the BRB confirms all if you know where to look. A lovely challenge from the late Mr Lemon.

[flocker]

Got there after only a brief bark up the wrong tree. A few tough clues to unravel but knowing about the 180 degree symmetry helps it all to fall into place nicely once you get a toehold in the grid and gradually build it by trial and error - with the final clues almost revealing themselves. I was kept guessing until the end - even about which was the unclued entry and Chambers indeed confirms the denouement. Hard work but highly satisfying too.

[AndrewG-S]

Lovely innovative crossword and a fitting farewell to mr lemon. I particularly liked the grid entry method and the additional challenge of having two extra letters from each clue.

[roslyn251254]

On a roll - 4 in a row for me now! I'm addicted though I do realise some future Listeners will probably be too difficult for me.
Jigsaw crosswords are among my favourites so I enjoyed this one very much.

[aldanna]

Most enjoyable crossword. I now have a full grid and am currently in my familiar mystified-by-the-end-game state, as the quotation (from the person I expected) seems unconnected to the unclued entry. Hmmm.

[IainGrace]

Enjoyable final fling from Mr Lemon, for which thanks. Anagram clues opened up the grid for us and initial hunches as to grid positions were mostly correct. No particular difficulty with the invention, as the quotation was staring us in the face (unless we have got it wildly wrong!).

[contendo]

I really enjoyed this. It took me several hours, with complete stasis at times, but it all gradually unfolded. I sometimes think the Friday club must miss a lot of the pleasure of a long tussle. I think this is my longest opening run of all-corrects in the last 35 years. Maybe the Alzheimer's isn't creeping up after all

[upsetter]

Good workman like crossword - although we can't find a link between the originator of the quotation and the invention, if it is strictly speaking an invention.

[Contrarian]

Late start here due to social commitments.

Wonderful puzzle, but it's not really correct to say that the person associated with the quotation 'invented' the said item, is it?

[Contrarian]

Actually, it appears he did invent it.

[Speravi]

Absolutely first-rate: thoroughly enjoyable and scrupulously fair. The first Listener that I was able to complete was composed by Mr Lemon, and every subsequent Listener of his has been a joy to me – and many others, I dare venture. Vale, Mr Lemon, and thank you.

[doctormatt]

Enjoyable, and tougher than most this year, but now completed!

[Staurologist]

Impressive implementation of a well-worn theme, which has featured in the Listener, and elsewhere, several times, including relatively recently. I was misled at first by the unclued light into re-reading a short story of that title (which I recommend to those who do not know it), but then realized that I had been impetuous and looked instead for the quotation and its implication. Mr Lemon's departure impoverishes us.

[borealis]

Very nice. Gentle start, then some more challenging stuff, with a good misleading finish and a fine "I should've known that" chuckle. Study and emulate, all new setters.