Listener Crossword 4080

[AHearer]

This week we have Hexes by Stick Insect. Very straighforward compared with last week's gem. I thought there was a little ambiguity with shading, which I took to be resolved by requiring symmetry in a representation of a character. Has this theme been used before?

[tringyokel]

Well, I didn't find it as easy as many of you but I'm there at last.

I also had fun with the shading. I kept wanting to change the last letter of 18 across. But at that time I hadn't appreciated the significance of the "interruptions".

It was quite some time after I'd completed the grid that I saw the two interpretations of the title.

[catstail]

Grid is finished. Like you, TringYokel, I want to change 18 ac. Still trying to find the second member so am reassured that the shading has caused others difficulty.

Out of interest, how many out there who solved all clues with Chambers dictionary alone, and without aids or help of any description? Solving even one Listener without help from anyone/thing in the olden days must have been a great achievement.

[Mysterons]

Certainly possible for a puzzle such as this catstail, but undoubtedly quicker with electronic aids (hint: the second member is symmetrical with the first)

[cluelessJoe]

first time for ages catstail that I have used hardcopy Chambers only. As for 'the olden days', mine for the Listener (as opposed to life) were about 8 years ago. My first year's efforts - admittedly with much less free time and without even a Chambers to help - yielded precisely two completed solutions ('both correct' as JG then informed me!).

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, for me, too, it was probably the first one solved with only the hard copy of Chambers. The theme was a very familiar one, for me, which helped. I don't know how they managed without the Interner and other aids!

[silversolver]

A much easier work-out than last week's magnum opus but not entirely straightforward. Like others, I had to think carefully about the shading. The location of the "interruptions" within the names appear to be random - has anyone spotted any significance to these?

[AndrewG-S]

The interruptions relate to the manner in which the title character ended the relationship

[Roundhillbob]

Well put Andrew. See my note above. This was a clever twist.

[silversolver]

Thanks, should have looked (and thought) a bit more closely!

[catstail]

Solved this last night (thanks for the hint Mysterons, but solved it before looking at the site again for once).
Am very impressed with the width of vocab some of you expert solvers have - I would have struggled and failed without aids. Would have needed at the very least Chambers Crossword Dictionary.
Enjoyed this puzzle. The ending was lovely and fitted everything together beautifully. Thank you Stick Insect.

[7lattens]

Numbers 3,4 and 5 jump out easily enough but struggling with with which two out of numbers 1,2 and 6 are depicted in the grid !!!

[Archie1962]

If you shade in the three you have found and then look at your grid the penny may drop.

[7lattens]

Der ! - How obvious - now I feel really stupid !

[jacinth]

I was without technology until today, but I too managed to do most of it on Saturday with just a Chambers and a Bradfords, which is a first for me and very satisfying. Only a couple in the SE corner eluded me. All very enjoyable, and a bit of a relief not to have to tackle another like last week's.

[easterfool]

A pleasant day's solving after last week's monumental struggle. Came to the thread after all done - smiled at the shading, reinforced by the number of cells to be shaded. This was one done by Chambers only and not a lot of use of that, though it's nice to have the reinforcement of an idea. Forget to offer congrats to Mr & Mrs and little M. We're into grandchildren now, so can send them back to parents at the crying stage. Good luck and lots of cottonwool in the months (years) to come.

[munkybiskitz]

Thank you, Stick Insect. Nice to have a straightforward puzzle which still managed to combat 'nappy brain'! On that subject, belated congrats to midazolam and family. I was delighted to win a Listener prize recently and quite amused when it arrived: a book titled 'Cryptic Crosswords and How to Solve Them'. It kept my feet on the ground, anyway!

[easylistener]

PDMs galore. I swear the theme came to me when I was asleep. I woke up early, tiptoed downstairs and suddenly it all made sense! This was a good one even though it took me until Wednesday! Still not sure about some of the wordplay but happy with result. Used Chambers, Bradfords and internet but no Fanklins.

[Scree]

Hi! I've consulted this discussion page for some months (if possible after finishing the puzzle, but sometimes desperately seeking hints!)

I found this puzzle fairly easy (didn't get far enough with the previous one to persevere), but if I'm honest it was my daughter, home for Easter, who spotted the precise theme and saw how the highlighted entries would be arranged in the grid, possibly saving me hours.

I used Chambers and Chambers Words. I sometimes resort to a 'crossword solver' link which clearly uses a good enough dictionary to be useful for Azeds and Listeners. (It offers anagrams and possible words for partial answers along the lines of 'a.sw.r b..k'). I find it amusing that Listener solvers intent on coming top of the form use more elaborate electronic aids, yet object to this forum. I suspect this reflects their upbringing, and wonder if there's a similar cultural shift in the way I remember always doing homework on my own, while my daughter's generation clearly consult and collaborate more (while still respecting warnings about plagiarism and valuing individual achievement in exam papers).

[easterfool]

I do so agree, Scree. I sometimes think that some solvers have lost sight of the fun of solving and of helping others to enjoy it - much the same as any hobby should be. I would love to come "top of the form" but I suspect that my one all-correct year is likely to be my only one - and that was quite a few years ago. So what - at least I can still live in hope. Now the brain is getting tired and the setters are more ingenious (at times - eg 4079). Keep up the good work - more fun tomorrow!

[danbpearl]

I think everyone here knows in their heart of hearts any Listener thread that is published before the puzzle's answer goes a long way to spoiling something very special.