Listener 4087 Double Shuffling and Dealing by Auctor

[Ruthrobin]

We have found the clues a step up in difficulty from previous ones and had to go to the Internet for the quotation. Certainly not a puzzle for newcomers this week!

[midazolam]

Zabadak - when constructing a puzzle like this you need to ensure that each entry has to contain that letter of the quotation in that order. so e.g. "midazolam...." 1 across has to contain an "m". the next across entry an "i" etc. this can be a tricky grid to construct and not always appreciated. from the solver's point of view it doesn't really matter as it is a "normal" grid.

[easylistener]

Unfortunately this one has defeated me! ...although we all know that feeling only to find a surprising breakthrough hours or days later! But so far this one looks like it is not matching my name!

[Roundhillbob]

Stick at it el. I felt the same but now have a good number of clues, know how the definitions are affected; and on the way to the literary bits.

[daagg]

el, I spent an hour or so feeling that I would never get anywhere. I then found a clue which seemed to have an "obvious" answer, but the clue did not seem to be constructed properly. My breakthrough was realising that the answer was right, and the clue was "wrong".

[AHearer]

It amused me to note that an extra letter A added to the B set could give a four-word phrase which might express one's reaction to the local and global changes.

[teuchter2]

I am finding this one really difficult. I made the same mistake as midazolam to start with. I agree that the instructions are ambiguous. I now have the left half of the grid almost complete, but I am struggling to get any foothold into the right-hand side. I think I have got the hang of the affected definitions. Any suggestions as to what is an easyish clue to tackle on the right?

[Ruthrobin]

teuchter2 I got in through 7ac and 31ac - both fairly straightforward. (You need to think laterally for 7ac) Then feed any letters you have for 11d into a word finder and consider the very odd suggestions it comes up with - it is one of those.

[bobbycollins]

Morning all, just bookmarking the link.

Not yet really got going on this for footy reasons. I live in a small town, Poulton-le-Fylde, near Blackpool and am still reeling from the events of yesterday, when the local team secured promotion to the English Premier League. Non-footy fans cannot begin to believe how incredible that is. Nor me. Hey, cluelessJoe, I wonder what Simon Grayson thinks?

Hungover regards to all.

[s436]

With so many possible anagrams, there doesn't appear to be a way of divining the four-word quotation unless you "know" it. Is the author well-hidden or is s/he in a conventional location?

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, to your question. Try extracting one or two obvious words that frequently appear and working with what is left. (Obviously the vowels have to be shared out fairly evenly - that should help without giving anything away!)

[dr b]

s436, I didn't know it, but it wasn't that hard to divine. There are some simple words that jump out of the mix. The author is in a conventional Listener location.

[Ruthrobin]

I meant 'yes, conventional'.

[s436]

Sorry RR, "yes" to which half of my question?

[qwerty99]

I got off to a quick start on this one, but the affected definitions soon slowed me down. I've filled the grid, unscrambled the A letters, but as yet no joy with the Bs. I thought I could see one potential author in the grid, but I'm sure this is a red herring.

[daagg]

With hindsight, it is much easier to find the author than to work out the quotation anagram. I'm a bit cross with myself, because I had a half-hearted search for the author but stopped just before I would have found him/her. That'll teach me to be lazy (except I don't think it will).

Memories of Sir Stanley, bobbycollins?

[Clamzy]

Congratulations to your team Bobby Collins - my little lot are in the other playoffs.
I do remember seeing Stanley(s) Matthews and Mortenson in the FA cup semi-final at Hillsborough. The thought of lower division fottball then would have been unthinkable.

[Clamzy]

Even football:-) Now back to this bl***y anagram.

[bobbycollins]

Thanks, guys

I was only one at the time of the '53 final, but my 76 year old neighbour (still a season ticket holder) was there both then and yesterday and I am absolutely thrilled for him.

Clamzy, which are your lot so that I can scream for them?

ps: love the colour of this board

[s436]

I can't be the only one thinking this is a thoroughly anti-climactic conclusion to an otherwise decent puzzle: a choice of wordsearching for some author who's nothing to do with the preceding solve, or plodding through 8,000 possibilities for an anagram of a quote I've probably never heard from some random play, again incidental to the puzzle.

[daagg]

I pretty much agree with you, s436, although I think you will have heard of the quotation. I would definitely recommend searching for the author as being the lesser of two evils.