Listener 4724 - Envy By Quinapalus

[sunny-dave]

Well that was a joy - just right for a warm Friday, when it hasn't delayed the trip to the village for a quiet pint by too long.

Nice clues, a concise message and just enough of a challenge as the final step to make it all very satisfying

Cheers Quinapalus

[sunny-dave]

... and (on the off chance he is looking in) many, many thanks to Quinapalus for the absolutely invaluable Word Matcher - what did we do before it was available?

https://www.quinapalus.com/cgi-bin/match

[emcee]

Sorry, Quinapalus, I didn't think much of this.

Some of the clues were distinctly 'iffy' especially the couple which included words doing double duties. Two or three corrected letters were also rather tenuous.

The endgame wasn't as amazing as it should have been.

[HawkCrossword]

I particularly enjoyed the clues. I'm all for some slight relaxation of the stricter conventions we currently work to (but not too much, too quickly, mind).

I'd love to complete the optional step, but I don't think I have the materials to do it justice.

Nice puzzle - thanks, Quinapalus!

[Dim16]

I found completing the grid a bit of a slog, although I did enjoy the clue to 16ac.

I have identified the verse and the work, but haven't a clue as to the final step.

Hopefully inspiration will strike in due course.

[Dim16]

No inspiration.

Frustrating, but them's the breaks.

[Scorpius]

I agree with emcee that some clues were distinctly iffy, and some corrected misprints were pushing the boundaries. I appreciate the difficulties that some problematic letters present to a setter who has opted for definition misprints, but if the solver is confronted by a sequence of clues where the misprints are over-contrived and hard to fathom, the whole thing becomes an obstacle course that frustrates the solver's progress towards the thematic verse.