Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

Thanks, simondx9x, I think it's a perennial problem, but not an insurmountable one! I think HotelWhiskey 's post was excellent, a timely reminder of how to try to keep things in their reasonably happy state.

Is the title as simple as a reference to the key thematic material or am I missing something?

Simond9x, I just took the puzzle title as a synonym for a word in the ... other title. I could be wrong!

In post 66 a personal email address was given, I have removed the email address and inserted an Admin note in that post. I have repeated the note here so that everyone can see it.

“Note from Admin - Esther/Colin, we do not recommend posting personal email email addresses In the Forum and anyway I am of the opinion that posting it goes against the spirit of the Forum.

Previous practice has been to have a separate thread headed “May Contain answers” which has sufficed in the past”.

I feel compelled to add to the debate on the rights/wrongs of this forum, and if I get a red card, so be it. The Listener is a fiendish challenge that is intended to stretch solvers to the limit of their capabilities, therefore simply being given the answer is counter productive to that. Yes, some clues are formidable and devious (unless it's set by Sabre when it is all clues), and a nudge to re-stimulate the determination to complete rather than resort to surrender in abject frustration is a positive output that should be embraced. The longer you stick with dogged resolve the more competent you become, the more you rely on being given the answer, the lesser is the learning. So, IMHO, no answers should appear in this forum (especially if they are available elsewhere), and hints should be as subtle as possible, but helpful - i.e. no need to further frustrate someone who has probably already started pulling their hair out.

As for crossword books, I have both Listener books, and I tore out the solutions and shredded them - which has since caused me considerable anguish. If you go to the the Listener site, every puzzle set will tell you the theme of the puzzle as an incentive to continue - but NO answers are available - maybe a valuable lesson to be learned.

Giotto. Eloquently stated. Completely concur.

Giotto must be an autocorrect, but a serendipitous mistake!

I'm with gitto on this. Hear, hear!

The Listener is by far the most challenging crossword series I've ever attempted, and I have grown to love it and at the same time, have continually improved. In part this is because answers are generally not simply given out in this forum. I actually cannot see the point of giving an answer rather than a hint, because that removes the whole point of the exercise, which is the intellectual challenge. And it is disappointing/frustrating /annoying if one catches sight of an explicit answer before having applied oneself to the clue.

But if folk want to go down that route, I see no reason why they should not start a separate 'may contain answers' thread.

Piffleworthy, Smplesimon and Gitto.

Thanks for the interesting posts. I think the majority of us share the view that giving answers is not the preferred option for the main Listener thread. Maybe the '...May Contain Answers' thread will reappear soon, even though some Forum users felt it 'pious'.

Has anyone else got a conflict of letters between 12D and 14A? I have G and N clashing at cell 3 and cell 5 respectively, or does the mathematician’s name have an odd spelling? Otherwise, all complete and ready to post.