Listener 4083: Not as Mad as It Sounds? by Bandmaster

[Zabadak]

At first the high proportion of short words is a bit daunting - but for the most part the clues are fair, even if in one instance a little vulgarity (in my and Chambers' opinion) creeps in. A good enjoyable solve with a pleasing conclusion which probably excuses (and made necessary) all those short clues. I liked the coinage too. Thanks and appreciation to Bandmaster.

[midazolam]

the definition is in chambers teuchter2 and there is a clash

that is quite a stunning pic on your avatar starwalker from the the Hubble telescope

another way of getting the quotation is if you think you might have the first name then put it into the search facility at this link http://www.askoxford....otation_dict/?view=uk

it does not have all the quotations compared to the full ODQ but it is a very helpful quick reference with a search facility

[teuchter2]

Thanks Midazolam for your help. The light dawned and I got the quote etc. before seeing this reply. My one problem now is that when I make what I consider to be the necessary amendments to the grid, my 18a does not make a word, although the others do. This makes me wonder if I have got 18a wrong. I was not sure about the office in the clue, but my answer fitted with the rest and with my down entries.

[dr b]

teuchter, note that 18a becomes a "possible coinage," not necessarily an actual word.

[midazolam]

careful examination of Chambers will confirm that all final grid entries are real words, dr b

[daagg]

I hope this isn't straying too much into the political arena, but I can't help remembering one of Maggie's less complimentary nicknames from 20 years ago. She was called Lady D....... - being two stops beyond .......

[dr b]

ah. I don't have Chambers to examine, so I assumed it was a made up word.

[AHearer]

Thanks, Midazolam, I hadn't spotted that the coinage also existed as a real word. I still like it as a coinage.

I'm amused by this rapid shift from the Woodentops to individualised avatars. There's probably a PhD thesis in there somewhere.

[Cruncher]

Was anyone else fussed by 42ac? To my mind the definition and the word play arrive at different letters for the 5th letter of the answer. In the end that letter disappears in the final grid but I thought it was an inaccurate clue if you follow Chambers carefully.
Otherwise a nice puzzle. I convinced myself early on the omitted letters were going to spell some variant of Bandmaster so led myself up a blind alley for a while

[dr b]

Cruncher: did you mean 46a? 42a seems uncontroversial. (and its 5th letter does not change!)

for 46a, I was able to find a def. in the OED for "having dandruff" that satisfied me as to the 5th letter.

[perseverer]

Cruncher - Chambers CD gives the wordplay version as meaning what you would expect as the definition

[AndrewG-S]

After a second unplanned Saturday away courtesy of the volcano, I am nearly there on this one. 3 or 4 clues to go in the top RH corner and need to find the coinage. 15d brought a smile to my face too. Haven't spotted the vulgar clue?

[Cruncher]

Yes sorry 46ac. Thanks, I stand corrected. I'd missed the cross-reference in Chambers for the grid entry and only saw the common definition. Happy now!

[Clamzy]

I admire those who spotted the theme before completing the clues and clashes. Philoctetes had one too many but my problem was too few.
Had I know about the resource kindly given by Midazolam above, which allows searching first names, I would have finished on Saturday.
I had never heard of this American and didn't get the surname and thus the quotation until Sunday.

[Philoctetes]

I had never heard of the quoter before, but he was on the radio this morning! I traced my excess of clashes to my answer to 47ac where, due to a senior moment on treating less as more I ended up with a girl's name. Bah

[AndrewG-S]

Finished now, a rather neat final twist - I too particularly enjoyed the title, which was amusing

[cruciverbali]

I think Ruthrobin is referring to 41 down Andrew.

[AndrewG-S]

Just looked it up in chambers and see what you mean. I hadn't bothered to check and was working on the basis it was some sort of sporting term.

[daagg]

Has anyone worked out what is meant by "broadly similar effect"? The words seem sufficiently odd to suggest they ought to be significant, but I can't make anything of them.

[dr b]

Hm. Like Andrew, I never gave 41d a second thought, because it is US slang for a basketball (as in "he can really shoot the ____").

daagg, I could find no meaning behind that phrase, although I sort of stopped thinking about it once the end was in sight.

[shelouse]

Liked this very much. Like nearly everyone, I got 6 down first. My real struggle was with 22dn. Thanks, Bandmaster.

I like all the avatars - makes it much easier to follow an exchange on the thread by looking for the avatar