Great fun. Not overly complex clues, so grid (sort of) filled quite quickly. PDM for endgame likewise followed apace, and then needed some careful thought to justify all ten modifications, producing...
Best of luck with this one, everybody. I nearly quit with it being a carte blanche (sort of - at least we have word lengths) with indeterminate numbers of letters to be removed from clues, clashing...
The lack of numbers in the grid didnt hold this puzzle up for long and now having obtained a full grid, the author, birthplace, the removed five letter collection and one of the three novels...
I think I've got there, though held up for a long time in the NW of the grid and an overenthusiastic wrong answer to 1 down in particular. A wrong assumption about probably the most critical missing...
Much less perspiration (and perhaps less inspiration) than last week, but still some tricky spots in the letters omitted, a number of enjoyable clues, and a neatly executed grid all fitting together...
(sorry started on wrong site, apparently) - so repeat here : Well, we had all been moaning that the Big L was getting to be the Big EZ ... not this week, mefears but after a mammoth struggle, have now...
Having struggled to get started, I found the claim with less than half of the grid filled. Now I am struggling again with the final few answers. Lots of fun though. Dammit ! There goes the Z cup again...
For the second week running we have a brilliant new Listener setter (though Shark appears regularly in the IQ, EV and Magpie series) and what impeccable cluing. This was sheer pleasure with pdm...
I've just got the theme and title and am, as usual, thoroughly enjoying this puzzle. The three different types of clue were a challenge to start with but it all works out very nicely. Many thanks for...
I found Merlin's puzzle to be a quick fill and the final step was easy for me to complete - but that does not diminish my admiration for this excellent construction in the slightest. Some of the...
Back to the relatively easy ones then, though I think the final step's a bit of a swine if the subject's not all that familiar. One of those with a reasonably straightforward grid fill (with one...
Where is everybody? Posting somewhere else? What an intricate construction. I have been delighted by the subtlety of this and now have a full and functioning grid but I am wondering how it fulfilled...
My heart sank when I saw the length of the preamble, but simply followed the straightforward instructions and the grid came together nicely. Quotation and play identified, now it's just a case of...
Zany clues, almost laugh-a-minute stuff and a remarkable (and surprising) dénouement. Brought much needed mental warmth to the icy surroundings here. Terrific stuff, great fun and the best of...
Unless I've gone seriously wrong, this easier than it first appears, though I'm still not sure of 15d. The definition seems to be a bit stretched and it's a bit of an exception to one of the rules....
Seems to be my turn to start one. Indeed this has been a massive effort, though not entirely fruitless. The hardest so far this year (but that isn't saying much, is it?) We still have some short words...
I found this to be a somewhat difficult puzzle with very competent clueing, clever concealment of many of the misprints and a nice theme. Thanks, Hypnos.
A nice easy start to the New Year, encouraging me to start entering again. If there are people reading this who haven't tried the Listener yet, here's a good place to start - fair clues that take a...