Listener 4244 At Spes Non Fracta By Chalicea

[Zabadak]

Persuaded out of a Listener sabbatical by the early posting on the website, I worked my way through this (thankfully) relatively straightforward issue at a steady pace and with just enough enthusiasm.
I haven't got all the misprints, but more than enough to get the instruction, and I appreciated the niceness of the instructions on what to identify. Good stuff all round and my regards to all.
Is there such a thing as a Friday morning club?

[cluelessJoe]

I was a lad in short trousers when I test-solved this one, so as the memory is not what it used to be I was able to re-solve without remembering (m)any of the answers. As good now as I remember it was back then, a fine solo debut. Shame it took so long! Well done Chalicea

[Cruncher]

Ouch grace_slick.... Haven't seen any of Chalicea's puzzles in the EV but have seen them in the Magpie and appreciate the skill of puzzles that are in the Listener mould but slightly less elliptic and therefore more accessible to a wider readership. And as ever, if you think you can do better, have a go yourself. I have special recycling collections for all the puzzles I've tried to set and binned.

Meanwhile thank you guys for a generous glut of responses to my earlier request. But then maybe you just want to sabotage my personal record!

[s_pugh]

As one who dislikes word searches I thought I'd struggle with this one but the phrase made things relatively easy - like TheBear69 I had more difficulty finding the other! Sussed the theme relatively early on but all in all this was a highly enjoyable and well constructed puzzle. Thanks to Chalicea for a fun workout.

[tilbee]

Just back from holidays to find the sun is shining back at home at last A very pleasant way to spend first afternoon back with a gentle but very enjoyable return to the Listener after missing a couple of weeks. Thanks to Chalicea.

[jim360]

Have no fear, tramart, there's hopefully going to be a guest solver's blog for this one that I hope you'll find equally entertaining (though with less impressive artwork).

[tramart]

Perhaps that's why it was issued early - to give the guest blogger time to solve it, write the blog and still be in the Friday club.
Just can't begin to guess who the guest blogger might be though ...

[IainGrace]

Good fun albeit theme easily cracked.

[tenflags]

I agree about earlier on a Friday would be nice. Well done Chalicea.

[Cloverjo]

Love the theme. All done except two clues in the NW corner, and I can't find the "other" clashing character. I guess it doesn't matter as I have the one we are supposed to highlight. (I think).

[IainGrace]

One could highlight in appropriate colours, I guess. Some solvers misled perhaps by the usual use of "clash" in crosswords.

[IainGrace]

Indeed slight flaw in an otherwise excellent puzzle that identifying the other character isn't a sine qua non of successful completion, given that it is one of the subtler aspects of the theme.

[trux]

An excellent solo debut from Chalicea with grid so, so packed with thematic "stuff" all very well described in the pre-ramble and neat devices, and very aesthetic finishing flourishes. Plus no ambiguities (surprised she didn't deliberately put in a few clashing accents! haha!). Many thanks.

[upsetter]

Niceness

[Philoctetes]

I have a couple of quibbles about this one:
a) 27ac is not actually related to the theme, as many such positively disagreed with it (IIRC)
b) The "thematic reason" for the occasional wordplay does not seem to work.
c) I cannot find any relation between the title and the theme except a general sentiment. Was it quoted by someone?

[Whenland]

We thoroughly enjoyed this one. Thank you Chalicea. More please!

[borealis]

Lovely. It encouraged a read around the theme which was enlightening - how much there is still to find out about!

[me99]

I have some empathy with Philoctetes here. I want to follow one of the two phrases but we're not instructed to do so.

[Ornis]

I liked this puzzle but I have a pedantic quibble with 36d because I think that the definition misinterprets the Chambers definition of the grid entry which is properly used in a spatial rather than a temporal sense.

[Alekhine]

Fascinating to read that some think that the clash may have been by chance.

[tramart]

A recent television programme showed quite convincingly that the outcome was not what was intended.