Listener No. 4437: Forgotten Middle Rows By Encota

[AHearer]

Wonderful to see this tribute, and quite neatly done too. Many thanks, Encota, this gave me pleasure and reminded me of much pleasure given by the theme.

[trux]

Indeed, am a fan of the theme too. Devices handled well given constraints; perhaps too many 3-letter entries for my liking but that's minor quibble. Many thanks, Encota.

[olichant]

I thought this was great fun, even though I'm not a great fan of the theme (my fault, not its). I found the middle portion of the grid really quite tough. Thanks, Encota - I really enjoyed it and maybe I should give the theme another shot.

[AHearer]

To be honest, I'm more of a fan of one half of the theme than the other -- but have to admire the mind that could speak to two such different audiences.

[olichant]

AHearer, that's interesting - to be honest, I've only had experience of one half of the theme. Maybe I should give the other a go.

[Ruthrobin]

Yes, a lovely set of clues and a fine tribute. Many thanks Encota.

[Hagen]

Very enjoyable indeed and a relief to have no grid staring. One half of the clues were (inevitably) harder than the other, but all was fair and above board despite one or two obscurities. Great fun - thanks Encota.

I think next week will be a numerical? If so I'll be back after the break.

[IainGrace]

Good fun and a welcome relief after the difficulty of completing last week's Listener and Inquisitor.

[upsetter]

A pity it wasn't Rosie - otherwise a perfectly good crossword.

[upsetter]

Been reading about the theme - what a nasty piece of work!

[HappyUncle]

Agree with most who've posted already. There certainly are some nasty pieces of work, especially the first, but the theme always seemed to me to be genial. Reference to Rosie much appreciated!

[icynorth]

Tough to get started, but it all fell into place nicely, with some tricky parsing to keep it challenging to the end. Thanks, Encota!

[sunny-dave]

Excellent - a nice tribute to a favourite theme - I like both halves and might even raise a dram to a third variety.

Thanks Encota

[Scorpius]

I tackled this very late in the week and after a slow start was worried that I might not have it finished before the next Listener, but the theme gradually emerged without too much fretting. I thought it was a very fine puzzle. The theme was superbly implemented (better than "quite neatly" in my opinion) and the clues very enjoyable. Given the constraints that Encota set himself, I didn't mind the above-average number of three-letter entries. The grid is a fine achievement in itself, and far better than many setters manage to create.