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@drxx Thanks, I think I have worked out the process and will make a copy and pick it up again at some point. I was probably reluctant to follow the first instruction having gone to so much trouble to complete the grid! 😡

The end game may explain why some of the clues were a little odd in the word choices.

Thank you very much, DSC.
I'll have another go and might even be able to put a few words in,
at last !

Well I finally got there in the end! I was confident I knew what the grid would likely end up being, based on how many cells I had left to work with. But my triplicate checking just kept showing the same clashes. Finally, I sussed out what I had done wrong… I misread a word in the replacement instructions as two words, an article and a direction. What an absolute plonker.

As a relative newcomer to the Listener I was put off by some of the early comments but decided to persevere. I had to use the Chambers app a fair bit, but finally got there and cracked the end game. My favourite puzzles take me past the weekend but keep me interested and this ticked both boxes. Thanks Twin!

Finished after a very enjoyable process - and without nudges; for me progress just frequent enough to keep interest and determination going. I'm with the POTY team, though will never get a vote...!

I’ve started very late to this and wonder if I should persevere. I don’t like abandoning these challenges but have already given up on one this year (the numbers one of a few weeks back). I have cold solved over 30 of the clues but am not sure if that is enough to start filling in the grid - not helped by some having to have 2 letters in a cell. Any words of encouragement?

@diver I felt much the same but just kept coming back at it with breaks in between, solving another clue or 2. Once I'd started to enter things it did fall into place reasonably quickly. There are many entries that aren't affected by the two letter/cell thing.
The fact that there are the same number of 3 letter positions in the grid as there are answers tells you something about the 4 letter ones. I'd solved all of those and the SW corner provided a 'way in'.
Looking back, there's also a hint or two earlier in the thread about the NW corner.
Once the central 9 letter one yields you are pretty much home and dry. 👍

@diver: FWIW, I took the same approach as granama. Started with threes and fours which gave me an inroad in the SW corner.

My son, on a visit from Singapore, and I slogged away at this off and on until last night when we finally got to the final endgame. Whilst I slightly enjoyed the grid-fill, having to cold solve almost all the clues first was a slog and I found the final endgame unrewarding - not helped by the fact that I dislike the activity required. On the marmite spectrum we are both definitely in the not POTY camp.

Hello all. Have done about half the clues and am wondering whether to persevere. The Forum seems divided: thumbs are both up and down.

I must admit there's a lot of cold solving - does it ever get warmer?