the listener 3919

[mad max]

any idea as to what letters (the elements ?) you leave out /in of most of the accross answers ,first time ive tried this one and cant see any logic to this part, any hint would be appreciated.

[gabrielc]

I'm a bit confused like you -- it's got something to do with 9D which is transuranian (i.e. elements > 92).... still don't see how to encode the across clues for that to make sense.

[Quizmonster]

Think Conan Doyle for the theme-word and answers to "unclued" slots. I haven't had much time to look at it this week, but 11A's answer, for example, is clearly 'Ben Hur'...ben = mountain and hur is half of hurdle - and the N, H, U and R are cross-checked. I haven't got round to working out whether it's the B or the E that gets dropped!
I'm no scientist, but it looks almost certain that any dropped letters are going to be related to the symbols of chemical elements, as Gabrielc suggests above.. B is an abbreviation for boron but E doesn't stand for any element as far as I know. So, do we use the E or drop it?
I hope either or both of you will come back here with any dramatic findings! I will.

[mad max]

many thanks,I have completed all answers its just there dosnt seem to be any logic to the "element" side of it.
will keep looking and will post here if I find anything MM

[Quizmonster]

As I suggested above, it seems to be that we must, when entering, omit any letters in answers in sequence which are not allocated as symbols for elements...unless, of course, they are there courtesy of the down clues. Thus, I have entered BNHUR at 11A, since B is such a symbol and E isn't, rather than the reverse.
I have only two problems...is 13A PURPOE, being an anagram ('novel') of UP PROSE minus the S? In addition, it looks as if 36A is RESONANT (anagram of 'near tons'), but I can't get that to gel with 19, 23 and 33 D!

[ulysses100]

QM,

36ac is Nortenas(Spanish) and I have N_R_NA as grid entry, which means that "T" or "E" has to be taken away but neither of these is an element, although, take away "Es" (Einsteinium, which is transuranic) and you are left with NORTNA ?
19dn is LIMITARY,,23dn STIBINE and 33dn IND.

25ac is entered as SAMSTR which eliminates two Es which is not an element either.
Confused ?

[ulysses100]

........I've finished all the down clues... but why is 7dn Rheims (cathedral city and hems but why the "r" and "i" ?) and 2dn looks like easiness.
20ac is RNZELS which only eliminates an "A".
28ac is Oswaldtwistle which comes out as OWADTWIST? which eliminates "S" and "L" and L or E
34ac is ASPIRIN but entered as A?II
32ac is LEARNING entered as LEARI?
Can anyone see the logic ? (Why "The Crooked Man" ?)

[Quizmonkey]

Ulysses - to explain Rheims: it's HE inside RIMS. Can't say anything else about this puzzle as Listener discussion is traditionally taboo, I'm afraid.

[Quizmonster]

Thanks, Ulysses. I had in fact got 19, 23 and 33D, but failed to see NORTENAS - indeed had never heard of it! - as an alternative anagram to RESONANT!

You did not mention my only other query which was about 13A being PURPOE.

Quizmonkey...tabooed by whom? This is a puzzle I have occasionally tackled over the years and nobody's ever told me it was taboo. I see no harm whatever in discussion of its elements. It's only a crossword, after all.
Mind you, "just asking for answers" is what the bulk of the Q & P category consists of! Frankly, I'm mystified as to why about 98% of the people posting questions here even bother to start doing a crossword.

[mad max]

ulysses, yes i am totally confused because i cant find any way of applying the same criteria to all across clues
PS quizmonkey, first time Ive attempted this crossword why is it taboo?

[Quizmonkey]

Okay, without going too deep: I think a lot of Listener regulars would argue with the phrase "only a crossword"! It has to do with the marking system and the keeping of records and stats. Regulars are scored every year - out of the full 52 puzzles and receive a personal record of their successes and failures (including details of any mistakes they made during the year). Collusion would therefore make a mockery of this process. Very recently a regular solver merely mentioned (on another board) discussing that week's puzzle with another solver: he then received a letter from the Listener team informing him he was disqualified. As I regularly appear on the high scorers table (I'm proud to say!) I obviously avoid discussing the workings of the puzzles, though it's often very tempting!

So, not my rules!

QM: I agree with your 'mystified' comment. When people post the simplest of clues (often with incorrect letters given, as they've guessed three other answers) I do wonder why they have chosen crosswords as a hobby. Ah well...

[Quizmonster]

Thanks for that, QM. I can see why regulars and setters/organisers would be concerned about "their own" sharing responses, as it were, but It's pretty clear from what we've said that neither Mad Max nor I is part of "their own".
I still have two slots to fill and I'm 99% sure of what fills them, but I shan't be sending the completed grid in. I just like to finish what I start and I'll hold on to it until the result appears shortly.
Consequently, I for one will not be sullying their score-sheets! Equally consequently, I will have no qualms about asking for others' views in future should I ever feel the need of them.
It's a difficult crossword, of course, but still "just a crossword" if you don't belong to "the club". Cheers

[gabrielc]

Ulysses: The Crooked Man because Holmes actually says: "Elementary!" to Watson there.

[mad max]

many thanks to you all but I have now given up on this one as "my brain hurts" mm