Listener 4291: Maxon By Schadenfreude

[emcee]

Luckily I spotted what had to be done fairly quickly -- a device regular solvers will have met before. This assisted in solving some tough clues.

Slightly underwhelming, feeling a little short-changed.

Not one of Schadenfreude's best.

[midazolam]

Hi Cruciverbalist. It feels like old times again posting with you. If I solved this puzzle without knowing the setter and had to guess, I would have picked Schadenfreude. It had his trademark with the thematic cells.

I think your comments are a little harsh emcee. I can appreciate the difficulties with the construction, which must be appreciated. I also do not think it was that easy and so welcomed the challenge. OK, I would have liked something to do at the end and the only think that tied the letters and the grid together is the title. However given the constraints there could not have been much else to pack in this small grid.

All in all, I very much enjoyed this puzzle, so thanks to Schadenfreude

[AHearer]

Welcome back to midazolam as well as to Schadenfreude. I found that my heart had sunk unnecessarily close to my boots when I saw who the setter was, and I'm rather on emcee's side with this. Nevertheless, unless I'd spotted the theme early I'd have been well and truly stumped.

[jim360]

Well I enjoyed it, though I feel Schadenfreude's title is just a bit optimistic!

[Ruthrobin]

I am not underwhelmed at all and, like Midazolam (nice to see you back!), am most impressed by the feat of construction. Knowing absolutely nothing about the theme, I have found this very tough as a solve and am sure that it has been enormously difficult to compile too. Many thanks Schadenfreude.

[emcee]

Ruthrobin, is there ever a crossword that you don't think is supremely marvellous?

Cruciverbalist: thanks for the link, it looks an interesting puzzle.

Just to clarify, I have solved some excellent Schadenfreude puzzles in the past and just felt this was not one of his/ her best (it all seemed a bit arbitrary somehow). I do, however, appreciate the construction of it and how long it must have taken to compile. I guess I have been spoilt with those other puzzles of his and expected much of the same.

[Ruthrobin]

Didn't actually say that, emcee! - You're an old winge! Actually, I said much the same as you except that I found it very challenging, being totally ignorant of the subject. Indeed, I would never make the 'underwhelmed' comment, though. It was made recently about an IQ of mine, and, believe me, it is extremely depressing for a compiler. Another blogger commented to me that the appropriate policy, if you have nothing positive to say, is to stay quiet. Of course, we don't have to agree or respond in the same way to a puzzle do we?

[grace_slick]

Ruthrobin, watching from the sidelines I can see where emcee is coming from. Some posters maybe need to discard the rose tinted spectacles occasionally and offer their honest views rather than what they think the setter would like to hear. Underwhelmed comments CAN be justified sometimes. And as a prolific setter can you honestly say you feel that not one of your crosswords has been substandard? If I was served a particularly disappointing meal in a restaurant I'd say so; why shouldn't a disappointed solver raise the same kind of complaint about a crossword that looks like it has been thrown together? Surely setters should be prepared to take ALL comments on board, positive and negative, and use them to better their offerings.
That said, I actually enjoyed this one, although my solving experience is more limited than most of you here. Thanks to Schadenfreude.

[Cagey]

Made little progress last night. Suspect, but not confirmed what might be going on. On hols now so will not tackle again till home. You all make it sound so straight forward. I am finding it challenging, will reserve whether I enjoyed after complete.

[Zymurgist]

I'm surprised by some of the ambivalence here. I really enjoyed it. It took surprisingly long to twig given the multitasking I was doing while solving last night.

[maurice]

Just in case you feel better in company, Cagey, I, too, am finding it very "challenging"! Not at all easy for a beginner, at least.

[starwalker]

Tough in part, but fair. A very enjoyable and typical Schadenfreude puzzle, for which many thanks.

Nice to see both old and new names appearing here.

[tilbee]

Serendipitously, due to what was going on in the background, guessed the theme prior to solving the first clue which certainly helped. I certainly found this enjoyable enough.

[IainGrace]

Working our way through it, but have a good run of extra letters. Today's Independent is an interesting looking carte blanche.

[sunny-dave]

All done - I actually enjoyed it a lot - very clever and some nice clues too.

[ parsing 18ac led me to a fascinating wiki page - worth doing the whole puzzle just for that ]

[cluelessJoe]

Wow, first time I have checked in here for ages and who should be here but Midazolam & Cruciverbalist, posting buddies from the earliest AB/Listener days. Greetings to both. How fitting to be brought here by old adversary Schadenfreude who has tripped me more often than most over the years.
Might catch you all again on my next visit in six months or so? Cheers, cJ

[Mesnilpat]

I've been struggling with this and now that I have sussed the theme I can see why. Much as with the real thing, I find I have lost all interest in it now. Sorry Schadenfreude, my total lack of interest in the theme means this is not one of my favourites.

[Scorpius]

I'm a great admirer of Schadenfreude, but I did found this a bit of a slog, with not a great reward at the end. I don't know whether it's my unfamiliarity with the theme, but I have an apparently unthematic clash in the NE corner (last cell in row 2); I cannot see that it would be appropriate to leave it blank. I'm also very unsure of my answer to 18a, which I've arrived at only through what I take to be the definition, the first part of the wordplay, and a thematic clash - the second part of the wordplay eludes me.

[sunny-dave]

I think I initially made the same error in the entry of 10d as you seem to have done, scorpius.

Work it through carefully and the 'clash' disappears