Listener Crossword 4079

[starwalker]

This week's offering is Sine Qua Non by Shackleton.
No one should panic that I have finished it already - I've only just read the preamble and feel the need for a lie down in a darkened room.
No doubt it will all make sense in the end. I have always found Shackleton to be sometimes tough, but always fair. Let's hope that this does not prove me wrong.

[AndrewG-S]

So this is my fourth Listener, not quite the first one suggested above. I finished square bashing, failed on labour (5 clues missing, but got the theme) and managed fragmented reality with a lot of help but not until thursday. Based on the mind boggling preamble and only getting 4 clues after 3 passes I think I have two choices, bin this one or take up the email offers. All advice welcome! My email is [email protected]

[Mysterons]

I seem to have the final highlighting without the question. Can I just confirm, is the penultimate element of the first version 'B' ?

[daagg]

Yes

[Mysterons]

Thanks daagg - I can see that the four elements occur just once each in the grid - is the other 5-letter word the name of a person ?

[Zabadak]

Mysterons: no, is the short answer. You really need to get the question(s) to find out why.

[Mysterons]

Thanks Z, that's my mission for the day !

[kwyjibo]

I found the preamble quite annoying. I've now finally clicked, having over-complicated the whole thing in my mind. Very clever clueing to make the hint work, but on the whole not one of my favourites. I still haven't twigged the relevance of the correct letters in down clues but it doesn't seem to affect the final grid.

[catstail]

Am intrigued by all the above messages. The praise for this week's crossword is making me continue. Only have 7 clues solved so far though. Am going to work on 1ac and 1 down now. If I get those it might help me with others. Any very gentle hints without giving too much away would be welcomed!

[JackDeCrow]

That certainly was remarkable - thanks Shackleton. If there is ever a prize for hiding the most information in a bunch of clues you will surely win it! Took quite a bit of research on my part to understand the last change - never been my specialist subject!

[kwyjibo]

A google search has just resolved my outstanding query.

[cluelessJoe]

I still have badly scrambled brain from that preamble, but I stuck with it and can finally come back here to see that a few others managed to stagger through, similarly impressed. The puzzle itself is astounding in its construction, and I just loved the realisation of what that final step involved. Brilliant Shackleton (but please keep the first bit simple next time!)

[daagg]

catstail, for 1dn there are only a couple of possibilities for "60s teenager", and you might want a crossword dictionary for "believe" - the misprinted letter stands out pretty clearly in this one.

For 1ac, two possibilities for bridge partners! Again the misprinted word is fairly blatant.

[serpentinew]

After a gentle nudge at step one or how to derive the question - I've got the instruction from the misprints and my array of unaltered clues. It does n't make sense to take the instruction literally and its not a quotation - been looking at it off and one for 24 hours now. Any guidance much appreciated.

[daagg]

Why not take it literally, serpentine? The instruction comes in two parts, and the second (shorter) part should give a very direct steer. With that in mind, the first part should suddenly give you an idea to try.

[catstail]

Thanks Daag. Have got 1 dn now. I think I have 1 ac, but am still trying to explain it fully to myself.

[serpentinew]

Thankd daag it would have helped if I'd looked up the meaning of the second shorter instruction, before asking the question!

[teuchter2]

As I couldn't start this until post-footie yesterday, I have only recently completed the grid. I'm struggling to get some of the misprints in the down clues, so what I have doesn't make any sense so far. I can't work out the 2d misprint and think this is holding me up. Have I any chance of getting there before I head for the Philippines on Tuesday morning, or should I just give up now? Any gentle hints to [email protected] please!

[daagg]

teuchter, if you are only missing the 2dn misprint, then I suggest a dictionary search or Word Wizard to fill in the gap. The letters you do have shouldn't allow too many possibilities. You should also know whether 2dn is singular or plural, which ought to narrow down the misprinted letter.

[Speravi]

A masterpiece: congratulations and thanks to Shackleton for an absorbing entertainment.

[tristram37]

I'v managed to find the two versions of the question, the 4 components and the key information, but the location of the original 5-letter word has so far defeated me. If the identical components of the 4 elements are what I think they are I can't imagine how they can be defined by a single word. It is said to be concealed - does that mean the letters comprising it are not next to each other, as they are in the second 5-letter word? A hint as to the location would be appreciated.