Listener 4066

[Ruthrobin]

A very happy Christmas - where are you all? This was an exciting grid fill with lots of alcohol and Christmas goodies and I am delighted, though reeling and rather bemused, about what we are required to do now!

[shelouse]

A belated Happy Christmas to all. Agree with everyone's comments - a very easy grid fill. I struggled to remember the only model I knew, as coulldn't find any useful websites that didn't give me a headache (surplus to requirements at this time of year) - wish I had seen your very helpful link, Mysterons.

However, nobody seems to have commented on emcee's point about the form of the submission. I made a copy of the grid, larger to make to work easier, but if you do it with the real thing you have to cut off the address panel, so I suppose that the panel does have to flap about (sorry) in the envelope, with the model separately. What is the consensus?

Amazing coincidence with last week's - might have been more difficult if 4065 had not yet appeared.
Thanks Jago for a delightful and appropriate puzzle.

[kwyjibo]

I have to disagree with most comments on here. This is the worst puzzle of the year. An entire crossword of unchallenging letter mixtures followed by a tedious exercise which I am not sure I can be bothered to complete.

[Speravi]

An anonymous solver is reported in Magpie 85 as saying, “I believe that the ‘final bits’ should be the icing on
the cake, not the start of the cooking process”: a view with which I have much sympathy. With the usual admission that I couldn't do half as well myself: the grid-filling in this puzzle bordered on the puerile, and (although I have the final construction with the required highlighting - so I speak from a position of some strength) it seems to me that the final construction process is insufficiently specified.

I do feel that the fact that John Green is faced with the even more time-consuming task than usual of having to audit the final grid construction, deconstruct it and audit the deconstructed grid deserves acknowledgement and the thanks of those of us who submit.

Incidentally, and with respect, midazolam, I didn't claim that I hadn't given anything away: I said that I didn't believe that my post gave anything away to anyone who hadn't already filled the grid and identified the instructions. Perhaps any post worth the name contributes something, it's a question of balance: I apologise to anyone who considers that my post overstepped their mark.

[perseverer]

I would be interested to see how many manage to achieve the construction using the grid from the paper. I don't know if it's clumsiness or lack of patience, but it was beyond me. I had to print a much bigger grid to do it..

[Cruncher]

Sad to say I really enjoyed this - maybe aided by the satisfaction of having completed all the puzzles this year - but actually liked the fiddly folding. It is possible with the original grid - at least it is if you print it off on decent paper from the website. Not stunning cluing I agree, but hey lads and ladies it does afford a little Xmas merriment.

[Ruthrobin]

Shelouse, I wrapped my small construction in a copy of the whole thing with the namey namey bit filled in, to stop the construction flapping about in the envelope. Of course, that might save John Green the trouble of unfolding him to see whether I have mischievously filled him with cheeky messages.

[catstail]

Hello all.
This is only the second listener crossword that I have completed. (The first was the recent numerical puzzle). I am therefore pleased that the grid was easy.
Have done lots and lots of construction, but I feel I am missing something. The instructions in the clue seem OK until the last 2 words. Have the last word as a word but it cannot be viewed. Have no highlights but the instructions seem to suggest a specific clue but something doesn't feel right. Am I reading too much into it? Thanks

[Ruthrobin]

Catstail, congratulations! We've been doing them for over a year and still encounter these problems about what is required at various stages. On this thread folk try not to give explicit answers that spoil the pleasure for others who want to have the pdm moment, but I'll attempt to say what we have done. When you have the construction (the nature of which has been made pretty obvious already in this thread), look all around (Key word) the last word of the instruction and you should find a word for 16ac - or something that resembles it (note the word 'resembles'). You are expected to highlight that word and send the thing (by air mail or whatever) to the given address.

[catstail]

Thanks. Have been trying that. My constructiion does look pretty poorly (a bit like a bird in a certain nursery rhyme), so I will start again and keep on trying. Good for the brain and for the fingers!

I tried this type of construction as a child and was useless then...

[catstail]

I think I have it. Brilliant!

[JackDeCrow]

Right, that's it, I really am going to stop writing my Z's with a line across the middle. Can be very unhelpful! Is anyone else of a certain age having flashbacks to Rupert annuals at this time of year?!

[munkybiskitz]

Finally done it, but what a faff. The first effort had the head in the wrong place. Next time it was right, but the paper is so flimsy I think the grid will fall apart when they check it! Not sure it quite looks like it's supposed to, but hope that any half decent effort will be acceptable. Didn't see anything worth shading at first, cursed the setter relentlessly, then saw it! Thanks, Jago for a lesson in patience and the acquisition of a new skill!

[teuchter2]

I have finally completed, thanks to Mysteron's link and the arrival of an engineer! I think she is brilliant and so was the PDM. I too was wondering about what to do with the name, address etc. which is why I visited this site. I like the idea of wrapping it in a copy. Seems sensible.

[tenflags]

been away up with the outlaws.
easy yes but its xmas and the fun at the end made it satisfying didn't it.

[foxy33]

I also completed the grid (far too) quickly then put it down for 2 days to avoid the faffing around. Completed and wrapped up - not sure it's my idea of fun! On to 2010 ....

[Clamzy]

Now that we've done and dusted 2009, how have you fared?
Cruncher hoped he was within a week or two of all correct, and there must be others very close. I may be half a dozen short what with holidays and silly transcription errors ( I left a completely blank cell one week:-)

[Cruncher]

I sent them all in but I never check the solutions. I've rather lost interest in them by the time the solutions are printed, so as long as they look roughly right that's ok. So I'd guess that I made one or two silly slips somewhere. How about the rest of you?

[perseverer]

Same as Cruncher - all sent in but wouldn't swear to not making odd slips.

[Ruthrobin]

Probably about thirty sent and correct, two or three sent with errors and the rest not completed or sent, either because I couldn't do them or because I had far too much help to be able to honestly submit (and yes, I know that was a split infinitive!). I do hope some of you manage all clear records!

[Scorpius]

I completely agree with kwyjibo when he describes it as the worst puzzle of the year.DLM clues are just about the most boring clues ever devised, and a puzzle wholly based on them has little interest for me, even if filling the grid is easy. A puzzle that takes 30-60 minutes to fill the grid, then hours of fiddling to end up with the final product has simply got the balance all wrong.
I find it particularly galling that I shall probably fail to submit the last puzzle of the year because I'm hopeless at Origami and so far have not produced anything like the required finished article. Having found various designs on the internet, only one seems appropriate, and that's so complicated I shan't even try. My only chance is to find someone who is rather adept at this sort of thing and let them try, but even then it seems hit or miss whether one starts correctly so that the key letters end up in the right place.