Listener 4186 Cuemasters by Tangram

[Zabadak]

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 letter sent me chasing after several wrong answers to the question, too.
Rather hard work, this one, with several possible dead ends cluttering up the solving process, and a grumble about doing word searches averted by spotting the Answer after carefully rereading the blurb.
Not bad, a proper Listener workout. Thanks to Tangram, and best wishes to all who gather here

[Rogue-Elfe]

I appear to be the only one finding 32 across impossible. I have the checked letters and the one that is missing, but Qat doesn't help this time. Also, Qat is missing the answer to 2d, which I found in the BRB.
Still, as I said last week, I'm not sending this in anyway, having already lost 100% success again.
The other thing - I know what 14a must be, but the wordplay eludes me in respect of the full word being alluded to.

[Rogue-Elfe]

OK, got 32 in BRB, obvious really.

[Charpy]

Rogue-Elfe:

14a - not the greatest clue. Look up the words which = your answer + 4 more letters. You should find one which has one definition which (very roughly) implies the need for culture.

[Walterloo]

1d initially solved a little flamboyantly but incorrectly? Check. Clues the best element in the puzzle and tricky to decipher? Check. NW corner last to be finished? Check. Feeling a tad underwhelmed upon completion? Check.

I do still have the latest IQ to do though, with its similar looking grid! Central square included.

[bobbycollins]

Well, lads and lasses, I enjoyed that. I found it tricky with some tremendously inventive clues. Last in was 3d, which took me an age - helped a lot by knowing the omitted letter.

Greetings to all.

[midazolam]

I enjoyed this challenge. It is difficult to construct a puzzle with set letters latent in every entry so I am impressed by this fact alone. It made the solving process tougher. I didnt get the theme until the very end so a nice PDM for me.

[TheBear69]

I am underwhelmed as well...I do not understand how the answer to the question relates to the treatment involved in achieving the homologousness (homology?) or the point of the central square.

[TheBear69]

I also think 31a has an incorrect definition.

[magichour]

I agree with many of the comments posted, and also found the NW corner the trickiest to complete. However I think some have been a little hard on Tangram - the answer to the question and its location in the grid are entirely unambiguous, the final realisation of the significance of the extra letter making a neat little PDM. Not as tough (or magical) as last week's, by any stretch, but a good solid work out all the same, made difficult by the letters latent nature of the entries. Thanks to Tangram.

[emcee]

I thought this one was OK although a hard act to follow from last week's tour de force.
The full meaning/ link between title and answer was clever. And there was I thinking we were going to have a puzzle based on 'Hurricane' Higgins, 'Whirlwind' White and the like ... I should know better!

[Staurologist]

The really good thing about this one was that it sent me back to re-read the original, and then on to related matter. Magic! And isn't that one function of puzzles such as this? To remind you of great works, or perhaps introduce them to you for the first time. Congratulations to Tangram for spotting this one. And for including a surface reading that confirmed the theme quite quickly. In answer to easylistener, I suspect that when the material is anniversarial there is quite a high chance that you will have come across it independently at about the same time as a celebratory puzzle.

[trux]

TB69 (this week's winner of Z Cup, me fears) is right however re 31a : I think technically it should be a "nationality" or conceivably three Ps rather than just one. On different note, anybody else think this was deliberately timed to coincide with start of the marathon at the Crucible? (And, wowee, well done Stephen H yesterday: almost brought Truxy tear)

[Alekhine]

Enjoyable, but with some 'ragged edges' as others have already indicated.

[perseverer]

On the other hand the BRB definition of the word would seem to cover it OK...

[TheBear69]

Er...what is the Z cup?

[tristram37]

I'd like to think this puzzle was deliberately timed to coincide with the start of the World Snooker Championship, but my own experience of when puzzles get scheduled leads to me think it may have been coincidental. A pleasant, straightforward puzzle which yielded its secrets to me fairly steadily. Certainly a much easier task than last week's. 1 across was a lovely word!

[tenflags]

The answer was a favourite of my late dad.. nice memories. Tidy puzzle not as hard as last week but better than quite a lot.

[IainGrace]

Finished this and agree with RuthRobin that it is almost harder than 4185. Grid entries not real words, no idea how often latent letters appear in defined entries etc. That said, we found 4185 not as tough as feared and completed it in a couple of sessions, so recommend that those yet to complete it should persevere. It is worth it.

[qwerty99]

I really enjoyed this. Some lovely clues. I don't think I've come across Tangram before; was this a Listener debut?

[BlackHugh]

I've just completed 4185 - taking a total (after a late start) of 7 days - an utterly brilliant puzzle. Whereas for 4186 I was nearly in the Friday club and I found it a rather messy puzzle ( eg "with a little license"). I cannot understand that anyone would have found the difficulty of the 2 puzzles in the reverse order - on the other hand having digested my stats. for last year: given my transcription error rate, I think I've got a better chance of getting 4185 right!