Listener 3954

[cruciverbali]

Another Class puzzle by Gioconda

[BigMac]

Thanks for the link, cruciverbali.

[midazolam]

have you left any cells blank?

[cruciverbali]

No, why do you ask midazolam ?

[midazolam]

because i have three clues that contain a cell that i have nothing to put there (11a, 17a, 39a)

i must be missing something then as i have entered all the answers and the name in the box

[cruciverbali]

Those 3 answers belong to the 'fat' children in Sets 3, 2 and 6 respectively. They are fat because the 'thin' children in their Sets have given them their middle letters. You should have the same pattern in the other four Sets - the examples you give just happen to have unchecked middle cells, which just happen to contain the same letter.

Cruciverbalist

[midazolam]

well you must have the most warped mind (in the most exalting way i might add) to get that. it makes so much sense now. i wasnt that enamoured with the result i had but now ( as even the other sets correlate as well) i take my hat off to the setter (and to you). I havent been doing the listener for long but i must train my brain to be as lateral thinking as yours. cheers

[cruciverbali]

You are most welcome midazolam (you have also noticed the similar relationship between 'tall' and 'short' children I'm sure)

Do stick with The Listener crossword - it can sometimes require a different approach, often challenging, rarely disappointing and potentially addictive, so beware !

Cruciverbalist

[Gazco]

Many thanks from me too. I figured out the basic idea from the get-go, but having solved well over half of the clues cold, I was struggling to get my head around the extra letters for the fat/tall grid entries. Things are now a lot clearer. I'm fairly new to the Listener as well, and an occasional foot-up is a big help. I've still got a handful of clues to solve on this one, but hopefully they'll fall into place now. Even with all the misprinted letters, I must say that I'm not convinced by the name I have for below the grid though. Unless I'm missing some thematic connection, it seems a little odd.

[cruciverbali]

Thanks for that Gazco - it sounds like you are making good progress and you should be in absolutely no doubt that you have found a recognised first name before you finish.

[bobbycollins]

The preamble is, again, a little vague. Do we need a surname here? If so, ******** if I can come up with anything thematic. Another fine puzzle, but unless I'm missing something obvious (Yes I did have Maggie Thatcher a couple of weeks ago) a bit of a damp squib at the end.