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"Ferreting" through the grid. Well played, jif73.

Quiz at 55, yes that’s what I have .. which I assume is also intended to give a slightly dubious 4-word depiction of events, but I might be wrong ..

I know grid-staring in the endgame is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I thought this was quite cleverly conceived by Ferret and will probably have plenty of people scratching their heads for a while before the penny drops. I for one spent quite some time on a wild goose chase after the zig-zagging animal that appears near the top of the character, convinced that it must be the start of something relevant. Maybe that was an intentional trap?

Thanks, quiz and jif73. It was the interpretation of "extensive" that I hadn't twigged. All done now, with an n-letter item becoming an n-1 letter word. Hope that's not too explicit, at this stage of the cycle.

Dylan, I know what the "extension" refers to, so your n becoming n-1 seems contradictary. Could you explain please?

buzzb, in reply to Post 44, I attach a quote by John Lydgate, 15th Century Poet and Monk

"You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time.”

I'm trying to please as many people as possible, whether I am succeeding is another matter.

The new approach will last for the month of August and I will review it in the first week in September.

As you were Dylan, I've got it.

Enjoyed the grid fill and then the claim led readily into the endgame; the effect of the last part gave me a chuckle. Many thanks, Ferret.

Norah, we are all extremely grateful for your efforts on behalf of this obsession of ours. Just trying to be constructive...

Norah, being a relative newcomer, I have stayed out of the fray as it were, but I have a few observations. Warning: Long post.

By the way I think you are doing a great job trying to deal with us Listener folks. However, none of the other puzzles seem to generate so much controversy. In the current Everyman thread, a newcomer (I presume) posted an answer, and was gently corrected by a longtime participant, and you were called in to edit the post. That seems to work beautifully. I don't know what it is about the Listener that makes that more difficult, except that there is usually a major theme and serious endgame.

Solvers being at different places may mean that one person's subtle hint is another's blatant giveaway. Still, I don't think that is too often the case, and we all certainly know to expect hints that might expose an answer before we are ready. I have developed the art of skimming to avoid that as much as possible.

The latest controversies started bubbling when one user exposed the entire theme blatantly about six weeks ago. (Listener 4664.) Clearly over the line. Then that same user posted full answers in a more recent puzzle. These were the most flagrant offenses, so perhaps giving that user a "good talking to" would be part of the solution? Then perhaps we could go back safely to the one thread.

mathsprofrockstar....your last few sentences are clearly YOUR opinions .....having read other comments i would say you're in a minority.
We're never all going to agree so I think we have to live with it.
At the end of the day no-one is forced to look at the thread.
As for someone getting "a good talking to" .....the answers / hints/ whatever were given on the correct thread so I don't think there's any need to complain...