Listener No 4407: Ad Nauseam By Chalicea

[AHearer]

Nice straightforward clues, so a fairly quick grid fill, with totally unambiguous instructions to follow for the endgame. I had come across the theme before, and I thought this was a very neat treatment of it. Many thanks, Chalicea.


This week I'll pin up my rough draft and my fair copy in front of my desk for a few days before consigning the latter to the post!

[Flocker14]

Yes, tightly constructed and very clearly signposted -a theme I hadn't personally come across before (but probably should have done). While grid-staring I was nearly lead astray be the appearance of a person of similar profession to the thematic one. Would be interesting to know if that was deliberate or not! Anyway many thanks to Chalicea.

[perseverer]

Oops! Sidetracked for a while by trying to fit the theme to a wrong visionary with the same name, a case where Google and Wikipedia didn't help.

Anyway thanks to Chalicea for a quick grid fill and clever treatment of the theme ( once I realised what it was.)

(And AHearer, it will probably be no comfort if I tell you I was walking to the postbox last Monday morning, clutching envelope in hand, when it suddenly struck me that I hadn't done the highlighting on my fair copy!)

[AHearer]

Thanks, perseverer. Every time I hear of a co-solver who has, or nearly has, fallen into the same trap it makes me feel just a little less stupid! Is there a marketing opportunity for a special tool for extracting mail from letterboxes?

[Not serious -- I know that despite privatisation these are still Her Majesty's Mails. Penalties for interference probably still involve transportation. But post-Brexit.....?]

[tilbee]

Yes certainly much gentler then last week as you would expect from a Chalicea, but a typically enjoyable denouement, which I only spotted right at the end.

I think the level of checking of your submissions probably says a lot about you. How stupidly competitive or obsessive you are, how many more interesting or demanding calls on your time you have etc. Thus I always cross-check my submissions for Magpie at least three times....

[olichant]

Lovely puzzle. Thanks, Chalicea.

[Encota]

That was fun! Clearly clued with great use of the theme. I spent half of the time with the finished puzzle and required modifications done but not being able to parse 2d's wordplay, which I got eventually! That was a new one for me.
Thanks Chalicea!

[fyellin]

I'm positive I know who the would-be visionary is, what the vision is, and how that vision relates to both the puzzle and the title.

Yet the instructions: "the discarded letters will spell the name of a would-be visionary" leave me with some, ahem, unresolved issues. The resolution is clear, but I'm left unhappy with the instructions. Am I missing something?

[trux]

Agreed: another delightful puzzle from Chalicea with much thematic material packed very efficiently into the grid. As ever, the picture is clear: in this case, to great thematic effect. Many thanks, as ever.

[Scorpius]

An easy but nevertheless fulfilling puzzle. A careless omission in noting a clash meant that I didn't have the 'would-be visionary' in the grid, but as soon as I saw what could be moved, still leaving real words, I twigged the theme as I know it very well. One of those rare occasions when I had no need of a Google search.
I'm still pondering the wordplay to 2d, so not all done and dusted really.

[upsetter]

This was delightful.
A very topical visionary of the same name confused us for quite a while. So many entertaining clues showing that Listener quality is more than mere difficulty. An ambassadorial effort by our RR, which should encourage more people to attempt the Listener each week.

[Hagen]

I'll add my voice to the general approbation. Lovely theme, well implemented - yes, it was all over very quickly but judging by the comments on last week's Listener thread, the double Playfair more than met the needs of those who prefer the really tough stuff. (I took the week off as I knew it would be way beyond me and I don't like Playfair anyway.)

Many thanks Chalicea, your are puzzles always a delight.

[Hagen]

I seem to have turned into Yoda in that last sentence - sorry!

[fyellin]

My last comment was incorrect. Turns out that one clue, probably unintentionally, has two reasonable answers. Switching to the other answer causes the extra collisions to go away.

[aldanna]

Fun puzzle, not too hard so plenty of time to enjoy summer while it's briefly here. Thanks to Chalices.

[Philoctetes]

May I express my appreciation of the preamble, which says all that is necessary clearly, wittily and misleadingly. And though not all the clues were as finely honed, 13 made me chuckle.

[rickye]

Concerned that there are six down lovelies but also an across one making seven in total

[s_pugh]

Well spotted Rickye - definitely 7 now. Great puzzle, lovely clues but is that a major faux pas in the example counting department?

[s_pugh]

I think it is safe to say that the across one is probably an oversight (given it is broken by bars), albeit a rather unfortunate one!

[AEChaplin]

"In my view it's about time the vehicle of "wordplay leads to the answer plus and extra letter" is put to bed..." so wrote a contributor to the crossword centre recently.
His answer was provided this week in the refreshingly different Chalicea puzzle.
We have come to expect the usual witty and humorous clues from this setter and this was no exception. More please.

[HappyUncle]

Its loveliness increases with each examination. (Flocker 14: I don't think it can have been accidental.) I was taken in by the other red herring as well, so when I finally twigged ... I felt a surge of irrational Happiness.

There were lots of really nice, and clever, clues - although I thought the Listener had a Rule about such as 33. Schoolgirl humour? I don't usually address any remarks to the setters, but I'm confident that these will be read, so: many thanks for the enjoyment, Chalicea.