Listener 4352 What’S Missing? By Artix

[Pasquin]

Excellent puzzle. Totally misinterpreted the first missing item I found, then spent about three hours looking for eight more similar items, before realising I had led myself well up the garden path. I'm familiar with the theme, but I didn't know about the three unclued entries, which took a bit more searching out just to confirm. Great fun, thanks Artix.

[icynorth]

"Do it!" must be one of the most concise fully-formed clues I've seen. Has anything shorter appeared?

[olichant]

icynorth, I remember the single letter "O" as a clue in the Times many years ago. You've got me thinking whether it might be possible to go one step further...

[Scorpius]

It may be concise, but the definition strikes me as dubious. I thought of the answer yesterday and rejected it, but now I can see it's confirmed.

As for double unches, there are lots of virtual double unches, as in the case of 5-letter answer with four letters occupying an unchecked cell. That, of course, is the inevitable result of a puzzle such as this.
Pity about the ungrammatical wording of the third sentence of the preamble. The Listener is usually meticulous in that respect.

I wasn't completely wowed by the theme, but the clues were very good indeed, superb in places, so that was compensation enough.

[upsetter]

Puzzle of the year so far.
Only 99/100 because we have completed without discovering one of the examples or solving one of the clues.
As for the title..................
What made this a great puzzle was the long period during which we were convinces that we would have to give up.

[upsetter]

Finally the penny has dropped for the title!

[s_pugh]

By ‘eck that were tough. But fair. Can only echo Olichant and AG-S – very definitely worth persevering and thankfully no ambiguities for once. Many thanks to Artix for a great puzzle.

[angus]

Does anyone else have an extra letter S at the end of row 5 with nowhere to go?

[upsetter]

Angus - yes, until we dealt with it.

[freiheid]

The 'Do it!' clue is a wonderful &lit (I took the first word to mean 'ditto'); if that 'O' clue is the old chestnut for CIRCULAR LETTER, it lacks a definition so isn't quite as satisfactory. Really good puzzle, which took ages to break into despite a number of easyish clues scattered among the toughies. My first inkling about the theme was, er, tarts, so not quite the right track.

[upsetter]

freiheid - your language is a bit explicit for this forum.

[angus]

Thanks upsetter. Of course it has somewhere to go. Silly me!

[Scorpius]

Freiheid, if 'Do it!' could be regarded as an approximate example of either of the Chambers definitions it might be regarded as &lit. The first Chambers definition is probably the most appropriate to consider, but as it's very vague, with no indication of the context of use, it's impossible to determine whether the very specific "Do it" is accurate or not. The original French doesn't suggest it is.
I like the wordplay, but I don't think it's an adequate definition.

[IainGrace]

Well done to those who have completed this. We are floundering and will probably abandon. Many clues solved but no idea about grid entries or generally what is going on.

[Philoctetes]

A challenging work out, but I think the definition of the "Dame Vivien" clue was not up to the rules. flawed

[freiheid]

Thanks upsetter - I'll be sure to run my next contribution by you before posting

[Scorpius]

Philoctetes, I assume you refer to the lack of 'perhaps' or similar in the clue. I noted it at the time of solving but wasn't particularly bothered by it, given the slightly unusual name. There's always some flexibility in the rules, surely. If REAGAN is clued as president, in theory it should be accompanied by one of the usual exemplifiers, there being other, non-presidential Reagan's but 'president' on its own is usually considered sufficient.

[upsetter]

freiheid - no need for that, just don't include direct references to the solution of a clue whilst the crossword is still live.

[petefoxes]

Agree with Scorpius - the theme didn't grab me but some of the thematic material in the clues was really nice. After half an hour I thought I might have to give up, until an example presented itself. Tough clues but well worth persevering. Thanks, Artix.

I have also seen the single letter "E" (13) as a clue before. Might've been "E?". A neat trick but not particularly tidy.

[IainGrace]

OK, we're wimps. Went back to it and finished it. Good puzzle.

[Philoctetes]

Scorpius. Thanks, but, for me, the reference in the clue was meaningless, as I had no inkling such existed. IMHO by no means well-known enough. Luckily the wordplay is simple and all checked. But, without the internet how would a solver with standard references get there?