Listener 4077 Forced Entry by Mr Lemon

[Zabadak]

I'm not sure what the protocol is for starting a Listener thread, so I hope nobody minds if I leap in. I thought this was a nice, accesible run around, more an impressive piece of construction than a source of penny dropping moments. I was half expecting this to be on a M*A*S*H theme, but so far as I could see, no Hotlips, and no Hawkeye. Maybe my Radar's out!. Compliments to Mr Lemon for a pleasant challenge.

[starwalker]

I came to this one quite late, having been away for the weekend and I have to agree with most of the comments. A typical Mr Lemon offering with no great pdm's or final step. All in all, a puzzle that was a challenge for the setter, rather than the solver.

[Zabadak]

Eril - I thought everyone worked on a copy of the grid - I can't really see another way of doing it, other than not doing it in biro and having a very soft rubber. As I commented on the number cruncher, I have 9 messed up grids for that one littering the filing system on the floor. Sometimes I think the sub to the Times Crossword Club might be worth the money!

[shelouse]

I'm at least as anal as Eril , Clamzy & co - I work on a copy of the grid, using a Papermate erasable pen - very useful, easier to read and no sharpening of pencils. After careful transposition to the original grid, I keep a copy before posting...

Can anyone justify 5dn for me - the way I have it worked out makes the clue look rather clumsy, especially the way the extra letter is indicated.

[catstail]

My printer is a 4 in 1 - and will print me copies. I always do a copy of the listener so that I have a clean grid if I ever complete them. Is there anybody who does not work with a copy?

[Zabadak]

Shelouse: as I understand it, a full breakdown is not well thought of while the puzzle is live, but if I say that last two letters of the answer (and the entry) are formed by a common abbreviation (less common in plural form) with the least common letter to be omitted, it might help you without giving too much away. I agree the clue is not the best, probably because of the problem of including a letter of the value needed, which I think cropped up a few times in this puzzle, the distance between two vowels being what it is.
I think Mr Lemon, with his self-imposed structural limitations, can be allowed a little clueing licence!

[Clamzy]

I think I prefer cJ's "librarian" rather than anal:-)
"File full" was my exaggeration. I actually stick my working copy in a drawer until the result is published and keep a scanned copy of my entry on the computer. Occasionally they don't match:-(
Maybe next Saturday will see a notice to send an SAE for last year's statistics.

[Eril]

I see my error - my lack of librarianshipness means that I tend to just use darker and darker pens and thicker lines as I correct my grid errors. When contributors mentioned things like rubbers (and given that some seem to be able to solve it before I have even seen it, something to do with the speed of light through crossword space maybe) I assumed they were simply filling the grid directly, with just the odd furrowed brow and application of eraser. I feel appropriately Heepish.