Listener No 4335 The Old Swan By Jago

[Ruthrobin]

Thank you Jago for a gentle romp. A fine curtain raiser for the Listener setters' dinner.

[AHearer]

Gentle indeed. Although it is clear what is to be highlighted, it is unfortunate that the initials being used by the object of the manhunt at the time of discovery also appear, albeit in reverse order, in adjacent cells in another column.

[lyrabelacqua]

Well, good for novices, but not really Listener standard, I'm afraid. It fell off the bone like an overcooked chicken.

[Zabadak]

I solved this one by doing the endgame first, which made it much easier.
AH, given the brevity of the word search element, it's not surprising (and, I venture, not unfortunate either) that other initials turn up: I see what you mean, but that person was not the object of the manhunt, of course.

[upsetter]

This just wasn't a Listener, so please let's not have anything about encouraging new solvers.

[starwalker]

Yes, the Radix jug is getting an a great push. Let us hope that normal Listener standards will return. Thanks Jago.

[toalisi]

Come on guys - please.

I'm a very tentative/novice Listener solver & hate that my efforts are
devalued by comment that the the puzzles are not really of Listener
standards.

I solved it and felt pretty good about myself. Oh dear.

[AHearer]

Apologies, toalisi -- I'm just a grumpy old man and any sensible person will ignore me!

[starwalker]

Also apologies toalisi. I have nothing against new solvers (after all, I was also one once), but the beauty of Listener puzzles was always their variety in both themes and levels of challenge. All beginners are welcome.

[upsetter]

Our point is that there is a spectrum of crosswords in the newspapers.
We certainly did not get from The Times cryptic to the Listener in one jump. It is perfectly reasonable to hope for an entry level that takes over from e.g. Azed, Genius etc.

[toalisi]

Thank you AHearer & starwalker for your comments.

As two of the most respected contributors on AB I read your postings
on the weekly Listener thread.

For upsetter I would just say that I have served my 'apprenticeship'
via Azed, EV , IQ , Genius etc & thought my 'entry level' was
established.

[upsetter]

But then Toalisi you will have solved much more difficult crosswords than this one.
Don't you agree that the Listener should be special?

[Mesnilpat]

I'm nowhere near being in the league of some of the regular contributors here. I think Ruthrobin is always positive and kind in feeback, but if I could polish this off in a couple of hours without much recourse to reference material, I fear this must have been rather too easy for some.

[IainGrace]

If the test of Listener standard is that this household has to pause now and again between solving clues, then this puzzle was not Listener standard.

[UglyUncle]

It's a shame that we're bashing Jago again after doing so even more dismissively for last year's Tour de France puzzle. Fair enough, this one is (again) a touch parochial, and as Ruthrobin hints it's a bit self-referential as well, but it provided half an hour or so of pleasing entertainment - a welcome relief after the last few weeks. And no ambiguity!

[s_pugh]

Respite for us numerophobes, though after swiftly identifying the theme it all fell into place rather too quickly for my liking. I hadn’t realised that Jago set the TDF one too – I wonder if his next will be set in a tea room? ;¬) Still I have Saturday afternoon back and chores to do so I'm thankful. Cheers Jago.

[icynorth]

I found this the easiest to complete this year. The clues were straightforward and well constructed. The only criticism I would suggest would be to hide the theme a little longer. It was quite easy to work it out from the instructions, and the title was still in my head from a recent puzzle. But thank you - I enjoyed it, as always.

[EV_Solver]

There's something wrong when it takes less time to solve The Listener than it does to solve the day's blocked cryptic in The Times. Was able to write in 1ac before I'd finished reading the preamble, and had the puzzle finished in just over 20 minutes. Some of the clues were embarrassingly easy.

I know there need to be easier puzzles to attract newcomers, and that the Listener great and good are on their annual bash this weekend, but frankly, this was pathetic. What with ambiguous endings, bizarre marking decisions and such a poor standard of puzzle this year, it's all rather disappointing. Hopefully at the setters' dinner tonight, rather than self-congratulatory backslapping they all sit down and talk about how to improve things.

[jim360]

Neither of jago's recent efforts has been well-received. I can see why, really. Oh well. After a long week and having had last week's still to do I'm not complaining too much about the easy ride.

[IainGrace]

There's nothing wrong with the puzzle per se. It's just the wrong standard for the Listener, and that's just a fact.

[Philoctetes]

An early finish for me, too, with only a few answers needing a dictionary. What surprised me was the presence of the first sentence of the preamble. It gave too much of the game away; without it, and the reference to the manhunt in the second sentence, however straightforward the clues, there could have been a series of gentle PDMs making the whole more satisfying. This must have been an editorial decision, and does make me worry that the team really are deliberately making things simpler.