Listener 4625: If P Then Q? By Mr E

[upsetter]

A well constructed entry level Listener - great fun.

Thanks, Mr E.

[Cloverjo]

Oh good, a bit of hope for me then.

[Philoctetes]

Indeed - plenty of interesting work to keep one going. The extra words were well concealed at times. Thanks

[Cloverjo]

I used to be able to find the crossword online. Where is it now, please? I am a subscriber.

[Philoctetes]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/puzzleclub/crosswordclub/ . Click on "specialist" and follow your nose

[Cloverjo]

Thank you, philoctotes.

[Cloverjo]

Sorry, misspelt your name.

[Hagen]

Mr E has been my nemesis in the past - fill the grid, then wonder what on earth you're supposed to do next and finally give up in despair. This one was rather more straightforward and I enjoyed it enormously. I'm still not sure if the letters P and Q have any special relevance (as opposed to X and Y, say), but I don't think it matters. Excellent clues too, though the setter's ears were probably burning when I finally worked out 18 across,

[NickorWan]

I expected it would be much tougher on seeing the setter’s name. Very enjoyable. Mr E is an excellent cluesmith; the clues he submits for the Round Robin at the Crossword Centre are always brilliant.

(The parsing to 18a eludes me at the moment, though what fits matches the definition.)

[perseverer]

The clue for 18 is actually very clever and unambiguous (once you figure it out) but it is on the sneaky side with the final letter an unch.
Overall on the easy side, but that's ok every so often.

[Scorpius]

In answer to Hagen's query, in symbolic logic P and Q are common terms. P may stand for 'proposition'. 'If P then Q' is expressed in symbolic logic as P>Q, though that middle symbol should be a U rotated anticlockwise. '>' is nearest to it on the keyboard.

The puzzle was far easier than Mr E's usual offerings. I enjoyed the twist at the end. 18a was very clever.

[Hagen]

Thank you, Scorpius. I hadn't come across the P/Q notation for logic propositions before, and wondered if the letters P and Q carried any special significance relating to the puzzle itself. Evidently they don't. I also considered that "If P then Q" could be a dreadful pun on having to wait to use the loos at a busy event!

[emcee]

Good puzzle but, as has already been mentioned, Mr. E has been much tougher in earlier years. I think he's been kind to us with his last couple of Listener offerings.

18ac was also the one that I parsed last but it's perfectly fair and does need to be understood to be able to get the correct fifth letter.

Thanks, Mr. E, for not setting a puzzle reminiscent of those beasts from 10+ years ago.