Listener 4629 Right-Wing Majority By Ifor

[Hagen]

Blimey I'm old - the last thematic item didn't exist when I taught the general subject! Really enjoyed this as I do all Ifor's puzzles - it was hard but yielded to perseverance at just the right pace. One niggle - I think there's an ambiguity in the possible redundant words in one of the across clues, but as they both provide the same single-letter abbreviation in both the original clue and the thematic clue, I don't think it matters too much. The placing of the insertions and the way they joined up was ingenious.

[perseverer]

Hagen, seems like you and I are of similar vintage and had similar careers. When I started out the replaced term was the norm. It hadn't dawned on me that the final thematic item actually belonged in the set, and somehow it seems rather illogical for it to be included there.
I did feel there were a few too many very easy clues, though there some also which took some unravelling. I had to work backwards from knowing what was needed to figure out what some of the extra word clues were leading to.
All in all I enjoyed it, and thanks go to Ifor.

[upsetter]

A very tricky puzzle and the wordplay only clues were difficult to crack until the PDM of the theme became apparent after which the solutions became strictly a luxury.
When I did an A level in the relevant subject in 1971 the two terms were interchangeable - but maybe I had very old fashioned teachers.
We hope the additional meaning of of the theme was an unintended artefact.

Hats off to Hagen for a Friday club prize with such a difficult crossword.

Thanks, Ifor.

[Hagen]

Thanks Upsetter. I now have plenty of time to do the Listener on a Friday, since all the pubs here in Prague are shut :(

[NickorWan]

Very enjoyable. I thought Ifor had gone soft on us as I had the left half of the grid completed in no time. The right half slowed me down a bit though. The clues from extra words were very much a bonus puzzle for me as I had finished the endgame before solving six of them. No complaints though, they made me read up on the subject matter, which was interesting reading.

Thanks, Ifor.

[HawkCrossword]

One of the best-hidden themes I've seen for a while - it took a lot of work to unravel. It's not my area of expertise, so I hope the thematic number writ large across the grid is indicative of some universal truth in proportion to its prominence.

A great challenge - thanks Ifor!

[emcee]

An interesting slant on a popular theme.

I enjoyed it and thought some of the clues quite tough. Not as difficult as Ifor has been in Listener days of yore, perhaps.

Thanks, Ifor.

[borealis]

Hagen, Perseverer: snap, career-wise. To my eventual horror I had a complete grid and had solved all but one (guess which!) of the wordplay clues before the theme finally became apparent. Very much enjoyed the insertions.