Listener Crossword 4181 : Sinecure by Franc

[starwalker]

Nothing too taxing. Another one to encourage new members. Thanks Franc.

[dr b]

There's probably a phrase which would describe just how straightforward this one was, but I can't think of it right now.

[Zabadak]

I have a terrible feeling that I've got a grump coming on. An easy grid fill, despite the clashes, and a reasonably easy spot for the four word phrase. I'm now banging my head against the theme word Despite having 7 or probably 8 of the letters unambiguously identified I can't marshal them into a coherent whole. Which either means I've gone wrong somewhere (never happens) or something odd is going on. As for the wordsearch element, which I dislike intensely, but which I assume has something to do with the dotted lines (else why are they there?), well, words fail me. I'm going off to cook and I'll have another look later. Cheers everyone!

[contendo]

My quickest ever finish to a Listener by a long chalk. Amusing but a mite too easy. Keep at it Z, there aren't many permutations.

[Charpy]

All done.

[Alekhine]

No challenge, was it?

[emcee]

Nice... but where's the Listener puzzle?

[Walterloo]

I do welcome the easier ones I have to say. Sometimes, and usually after battling my way through 5 or 6 Magpies for a week or two, I like to do one of these Listeners that we all know are engineered towards attracting more solvers. And there's nothing wrong with that. Having said that I may finish an E grade Magpie one day then struggle with the end game of an A grade equivalent Listener the next, which has happened before!

I liked this puzzle, so thanks Franc.

[qwerty99]

Nice puzzle but...where indeed has the Listener gone? It used to be the benchmark of the difficult crossword puzzle; now the EV and the IQ in the Saturday Independent are regularly more testing and more interesting. How many easy puzzles will there have to be "pour encourager les autres"? I don't like the Listener Lite!

[silversolver]

All very quick and straightforward, but I enjoyed the endgame. Definitely one to encourage newcomers. Don't think I have seen an easier set of clues in a Listener.

[tenflags]

yes indeed Dr B.
must be due a brute soon I reckon.

[Zabadak]

Guilty of overcomplicating things, I think. Thought I'd tried all the alternatives (including the one it turns out to be) without troubling the scorer, and i was nearly ready to question the single word theme-word. Really not my cup of tea, this one. Sorry.

[easterfool]

Well it must have been easy for me to finish so early (though not yet on Friday night). Last week's was done quickly too, but I had a rest for 2 weeks befre that - how were they? We were having solar panels fitted so I have been busy sorting the loft - too tired to start on crosswords after that. I'll be annoyed if they were easy too.

[Ruthrobin]

I thought this was a very enjoyable romp with some challenge at the end and a final grid that will be fun to complete. Many thanks Franc.

[flocker]

Interested to know if anyone else was misled by a spelling error in the normally reliable Bradford's relating to a certain South American? This held me up considerably (cf Zabadak's first comment) until I finally spotted it this morning - after which all went swimmingly. My thanks too to Franc. It may have been on the easy side but it was still enjoyable and an encouragement to the less experienced - and I get a weekend off to rest the aching brain.

[tramart]

I've largely given up using Bradford (3rd Edition) as there are rather too many typos and I find the layout irritating. Baus "The Master Crossword Puzzle Dictionary" (1992), although American, I find far more useful and more extensive.

[flocker]

Interesting Tramart, thanks- I'll investigate.

[aldanna]

Some exceptionally easy clues for a Listener, but quite an amusing endgame, which for once fell effortlessly into place (after I had got over being stalled on 13ac). I finished this last night but I must be getting blase about being in the Friday club yet again (well, third time) as I couldn't be bothered to log on to record this triumph.

[tilbee]

Nice theme - very fast gridfill until the end when I got somewhat held up in top right corner. Options for the clashes also delayed me for some time, until the two hidden words revealed all.

[Walterloo]

Flocker, yes, I too got tangled up for a while because of that Bradford typo, and that was from the online version too.

[magichour]

I enjoyed this, particularly as the theme is an area of personal extensive knowledge. Like aldanna, I was held up a little by 13ac, but it soon made perfect sense. While I agree that some of the clues were fairly easy, I think there have been slightly more straightforward solutions this year. But it's all a matter of personal perspective.