Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

The clues...
Requests for help should normally include the clue itself, the number of letters in the answer, and details of any you already have. Any additional information or special instructions, common in Listener puzzles, should also be included.
Hints only, please, no answers.

The theme...
Assistance with the theme may also be sought here. The help given should be fairly gentle. Aim for just a nudge, a pointer in the right direction, and certainly not anything that would spoil the puzzle for other solvers.
If you DO feel that too much has been revealed, please pass your concerns on to the site administrator - Norah.evoluted@aol.com. Norah errs on the side of caution, so anything at all iffy is likely to be removed.

The Listener is a unique puzzle and should be treated with respect.

Nice to have a more challenging puzzle this week - thought this one was excellent. Thanks, Mr Snaky!

Yes, a good challenge, with an enjoyable PDM and a nice addition to my knowledge.

Once again, the construction is very impressive. Thanks, Mr Snaky.

It seems to me that there a 5 different ways - some of them capable of more than one orientation - of drawing the final step. (The bottom row looks as though it’s pointing to a certain number which is an area, but not one which fits in the grid.). What am I missing?

Gobsmacking composition and a new bit of knowledge to file away.

We can't see what the Fisher Transformation has got to do with anything.

Thanks, Mr Snaky.

Many problems here! Although I have an almost filled (bar unches) the grid, I cannot parse 31a nor solve 25a,42a or 56a. In addition to that, my corrections to misprints yield 15 letters that do not seem to make any sense. I think I might sleep on this, probably until I see the solution.

31a: misprint in 2nd word

25a: the slur is the written kind, fairly rare girl's name
42a: 3-letter boring tool with D inserted
56a: What you resort to when your second idea fails + anagram of 'the'...this clue made me smile...

I am sure there is only one way to draw a thematic object using the specified diagonal and some of the top row and end up with and area less than or equal to 56.

Gitto you are missing several misprinted.
I have the full hint, but can't get any further with the thematic words in the perimeter at the moment.
A help with 30a and 35a would be great ! My last non-perimeter ones to solve.

Lumen,
30a. def. is 'counter', as used in a game. Starts with 'measure' (2), reversed.
35a. is (tense + epic), all reversed.