Listener 4119 Mass Production by Hedge-Sparrow

[Ruthrobin]

Good to have a circular one for a change. I am thoroughly enjoying this - right up my street, though some of the products are elusive - not surprisingly!

[dr b]

For better or worse I latched on to the theme almost right away (reading about the theme is a hobby), which led to a rather workmanlike slog though the clues to verify what I knew had to be the circled & extra letters, etc. Still, well constructed and enjoyable as always.

[dr b]

RR, how long did it take you to discern the theme?

[AHearer]

Yes, for some reason I, too, guessed the theme and confirmed it with the Ring 3 entries almost immediately. I've put the puzzle to one side for the moment as even with those leads filling the grid is going to be a bit of a slog and I've got to finish setting an exam paper.

[Ruthrobin]

DrB we guessed it before filling in a single solution :) Must admit, it did help.

[Zabadak]

Got the theme from answers in ring three, which led to quite a lot of back solving. I enjoy circular ones, and this was a joy: I particularly liked the apposite ring five. Thanks to Hedge-Sparrow and best to all.

[cluelessJoe]

Just passing quickly to bookmark this. Will (hopefully) stop by later once I have finished it. Bon weekend, cJ

[trux]

How appropriate it is RR as lead "threader" ! Theme was easy to (no, I dare not use that word again, dr B, hoho) !! Title immediately set one off in right direction (even if, I presume, it's meant to be hommage to the Speccie compiler). Quite a lot of grid-filling still to do, but with rim already filled this should be relatively gentle and I do have all weekend free so will take it sedately ....

[starwalker]

Like RR, I had the theme (about which I know absolutely nothing) before a single answer had been entered. All that is left now is to fill the grid and see how things develop. Looks like being a pleasant task, rather than a slog.

[midazolam]

I agree. Despite being obvious early on, there was a lot of thematic material to keep me interested. Some of the jumbles were also a challenge and so I had to work backwards using the quinapalus wordmatcher. It seems Hedge-sparrow has similar tastes to Dipper (if you catch my drift).

[silversolver]

I am afraid, unlike the above, the theme did not leap out at me and I had to slog away cold-solving most of the radials until I was finally able to piece it together. Maybe should have been obvious with hindsight but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Once the penny finally dropped, I was able to fill in the gaps and complete this very enjoyable puzzle.

[dead-eye]

manged to get the facility early on.must have been tough without that info.

[aldanna]

Oh dear, failing again. Nothing is obvious to me, and although I have a few words entered I haven't any idea about the theme. Can't imagine how you all intuited it so fast. Still, excellent for the humility, I suppose.

[tenflags]

This is frustrating - only have a dozen words so far but had a PDM moment and I'm pretty certain about the theme but can't get the 'theme elements' to 'fit' with where I'm at so maybe a word or two wrong. Rubber and head down I suppose.

[pushmi-pullyu]

Once again I've logged on here without having made much progress, have been awed and envious at how quickly others have found the solution, have returned to my puzzling and immediately had a PDM. I don't know how that works, but it does.

[trux]

Completed at sedate pace, picking off clues whilst watching the racing on TV ... all in all an excellent puzzle, with enjoyment through to the end of grid-filling. Many thanks, Hedge-sparrow ....

[tilbee]

Yes Aldanna I think early recognition of the theme is critical on this one in making swift progress. If still having difficulties with this, I would recommend focussing on the Ring 3 clues. Once you have one of these the theme should become clear.

[Ruthrobin]

Tenflags - my usual advice - read the preamble carefully. It's giving nothing away to underline the words 'clockwise or anticlockwise'.

[Clamzy]

I didn't spot the theme early either, but then again I don't live next door - just joking RR.
I did cotton on half way through the cold solving when I turned from the radials to the ring products. My thanks to hedge sparrow for another good one.

[tenflags]

Thanks RR .. as it happens I had read the preamble V carefully, and picked that up.
I wasted a lot of time because in my haste I put one of the radials in the wrong segment and hence couldn't match ring one. Doh ! That's resolved.
Ring 5 done and a few more radials done.
I now need to crack ring 3 I think to help make progress and hopefully conclude.
I'm v slow i'm afraid as I'm still a 'relative' new-comer to x-words and the Listener in particular having only done about 10 now.
Thanks for the advice anyway. I shall plod on tomorrow evening.

[contendo]

Finally got the theme, though wonder how some of you seem to have got it before opening your eyes. Am mystified by the hints dropped in early entries on the thread however. Have got all but the last of the ring 3 clues, but can't fit most of them in with my radials. Only have one word in ring 1, so obviously I have some way to go yet.