Listener 4849 - Peace At Last By Priest

[upsetter]

An excellent puzzle to start the year.

Despite the fiddly nature of finding the clues and all the other elements, an enjoyable solve.

We suspect that other solvers would have seen the literary link far more quickly than we did which would have helped.

Thanks, Priest.

[emcee]

It was quite a surprise to discover the "first of the year" was so tough. Perhaps it was chosen so the new checker (whoever they may be) has an easier start to the job, rather than being faced with a bulging postbag!

Thanks, Priest. I enjoyed the challenge.

[emcee]

Incidentally, does anybody else think the 20th 'product' is redundant?

[upsetter]

@emcee - we quite agree although the word does appear in the first section of the work.

[HawkCrossword]

These weird doubly-treated double clues took me back to my first Listener. It's exceptionally hard to make them smooth, so the best thing is just not to try too hard to do so. The order of them irritated me a bit - I'm not sure why the misprints couldn't have been added in clue order to save all that searching for clue numbers. Similarly, the clue pairings didn't make sense to me - maybe I've missed a thematic layer here, as I can't see any other reason for them being as random as this. One clue parsing has completely foxed me, so I'll sleep on that before sending it in.

Yes, it's a very strange one to have as the first of the year. Such a tough one is surely going to put the casual solver off.

But despite all that, I really enjoyed the puzzle - thanks Priest!

[Keepatit]

The following correction has appeared on the listenercrossword.com website:

The first clue for Listener 4849 should read “Spur in Death Valley kills shade, shield part of red boulder that’s not led out water, deserted”.

[emcee]

It may be me, but I can't see how the correction resolves the problem. If anything, it makes it worse.

[Keepatit]

I think the colour in the clue must be seen as a verb and anagrind, an odd Scottish usage. That's the only way I can make sense of it, anyway

[HawkCrossword]

I can't see that correction on the Listener website - has it been removed? I agree it wouldn't really help. The clue reminds me of those you used to get on the game show 3-2-1 with Ted Rogers. You could variously interpret them to be a car, a holiday or Dusty Bin. They weren't exactly Ximenean, though.

[Keepatit]

It's on the front page of http://www.listenercrossword.com

[Keepatit]

I'm no setter, but I would have scrapped the second half of the clue and started again.

"Spur in Death Valley kills shade, meandering water boundary missing any surround for shield"
 

[emcee]

That would certainly do the trick, Keepatit. They should adopt your clue as the correction!

[HawkCrossword]

Thanks keepatit - I see that now.

Yes, your interpretation looks most likely, but it feels like a sticking-plaster job, maybe? If "red" is now an officially sanctioned anagram indicator. How about:

Red tape supplying fuel (4)

Red Dwarf entertaining men in Number 10? (7)

Red admiral for Indian collector (7)

 

[Keepatit]

All excellent, hawk! I agree it's one of the most obscure indicators I've ever seen, and pushing the boundary of fairness in the absence of any geographical qualification. I thought "on", for drunk, was bad enough 

[upsetter]

I must say that I thought the clue for 13 was somewhat flawed but I don't think the correction has helped.