Listener 4108 - Past and Present by Emkay

[starwalker]

Lovely whilst it lasted. Definitely one for beginners and newcomers.
Sadly, it leaves me without an excuse for Mrs Starwalker's grand garden redesign tomorrow.

[bobbycollins]

Sorry! It was aldana asking...and yes, I did have to look it up.

[Jogler]

We have been pecking at this between some very interesting talks given at the Penguin Collectors Society AGM! As you all say, a pleasant and innocuous puzzle with a fun idea and as we didn't have the means to look up the quote we more or less filled the grill properly which spun it out a little longer. Definitely one to recommend to new potential Listenerites.

[roslyn251254]

Yippee - I've completed my first ever Listener and got the 2 word phrase. Not a doddle for me, but I am a newbie!

[x_word_fan]

What a good day - finished the Listener in the morning - watched The Super Whites beat an intimidating Stoke team with a last minute winner life couldn't be better - pity I have to watch the dancing tonight!

[teuchter2]

Yes, a little too easy. I was berating husband for making me get rid of old ODQ when I got new one, but it didn't really matter. I only started at about noon today and despite a disappointing trip to watch a bruising and unsuccessful encounter at the 'donkey sanctuary' (this wasted 5 hours with travelling time) I am now finished.

[Scorpius]

Congratulations, Roslyn. I still remember how good the first solve felt. Relish this one and keep persevering with the tougher ones as they come.

[qwerty99]

Yes this was much easier than some puzzles of late; it took me precisely one bottle of wine to solve! Perhaps it was deliberate, to allow the thickos among us some more time to finish last week's. I'm all but there, just can't do the last step. I think it will be my first defat of the year!

One small gripe: I know the BRB allows "quote" as a noun (in informal use) but it annoys me. As far as I'm concerned, "quote" is the verb and "quotation" is the noun. Perhaps I am just a boring pedant

[dead-eye]

congrats to mark goodliffe.won times crossword comp and won a prize for listener 4105.

[Clamzy]

I am not absolutely certain, but isn't this his second Listener prize this year?

[tilbee]

Would agree with all - definitely the simplest I have seen for a long time. Started this on the train back from Paddington after watching an excellent performance of Rigoletto at ROH and finished by the time my head hit the plilow. For the first time ever, managed to complete this without any reference to Chambers at all. Couple of answers I would check if I was submitting, biut wordplay and checked cells really leave no alternative.

[tilbee]

btw - can anyone advise what is BRB ? Not familiar with this nor Bradford which I see mentioned on a number of occasions ?

[dr b]

BRB = big red book= Chambers, I am told.

Am I to understand that "doozy" is a "look-it-up word" across the pond? Well, I'll be hornswoggled!

[Clamzy]

Which I don't believe will be found in Bradford's, which is an excellent aid published by Collins and compiled by the marvelous Mrs. Bradford from 50+ years of crossword entries. Well worth a look.

[Staurologist]

1. Good to have an easy puzzle this week, as I am only just back from abroad and have to leave again in a couple of days. Nicely constructed too, particularly in that all the three-letter lights around the central square were proper words, even if parts of longer words. Also good to be stimulated to read a rather neglected work by a major poet.
2. The technique of isolating a square within a square has been used before, notably in "Subvert" by Pabulum (no. 3498), in which any word that encroached on the central square had to be entered completely jumbled, and "Lord Dunsany's Problem" by Foxglove (no. 2808), in which the central 8 x 8 in a 14 x 14 (like this one) turned into a chess problem. Others have used the square within a square motif in different ways, some highlighting it in the initial grid (e.g. "Not Quite Tied Test" by Phil Brindall, no. 3216, and "Inner Circle" by Wolfram, no. 3257), others requiring an internal square to be highlighted after solution (e.g. "Friendly Fire" by Leo, no. 3427, and "Tacit Mystery" by Elgin, no. 3484). Room for inventive setting there, especially using different colours (see my comment on last week's).

[tilbee]

Thanks Dr B - thought I was missing something obvious, and it appears I was. No longer will I need to tell my girlfriend that I have to get out my 'big red dic'.

Clamzy thanks for that. Will check it out next time I am in Waterstone's.

PS: Just a thought - are Waterstone's and Sainsbury's the only major high street retailers that still bother with the much maligned apostrophe ?

[Zabadak]

Wasn't there one a couple of years back with a sudoku grid in the middle?

[midazolam]

there have been EV, magpie and listener puzzles with central sudoku style areas. What about the use of coordinates in listeners?

[IainGrace]

Been on hols for a few weeks so missed last few Listeners. Took a couple on holiday in vain hope that we might dispatch them over an early evening G&T. Tackled 4107 slightly belatedly - grid finished and just twisting away. 4108 very quickly dispatched, so breaking us back in gently. I trust that we haven't missed the puzzle of the year in the preceding three weeks - nor any heated debates in the Answer Bank??

[Clamzy]

He/She made a brief appearance last week.

[cluelessJoe]

.. and a similarly aggressive appearance the week before, Clamzy. Fortunately short-lived, as nobody rose to the provocation.
Staurologist, I'd add to your list no.3273, 'Force 10' by Llig which I remember solving in my copy of the Times Listener crossword book (not the latest, the one with the blue/green cover)