And we’re off, with a stonker of a puzzle from new setter Bell (well, a new partnership anyway) – this is the work of top practitioners, presumably communicating by Bell Codes. And yes, it does have a railway theme, even if your blogger only spotted it at the end.
Dash
Listener No 4866 It’s Not Involved by Quinapalus
Quinapalus gives us seven lines of preamble.
Listener 4865: Location, Location by Arcadia
Yes – a circular grid!
Listener 4863: The Green Grass Don by Smudge
A very warm welcome back to Smudge, who we’ve not seen at the Listener since 4388 and 4503! But we have a confession to make …
Listener 4861 Plain Cloth by Paddock
We meet Paddock in a range of crosswords, Paddock in the Listener, Phylax in the Magpie, Ranunculus in the EV, Triton, and Phibs as the EV blogger (I hope I’ve got those right) so we know we are in the hands of an expert.
Listener 4859: Forever by Twin
POTUS may be getting us down, but here’s a potential POTY from Twin to brighten our day.
Listener Crossword 4858: Lavish Border by Hawk
Now there’s an unusual title – and a pretty scary looking puzzle. I wonder what Hawk has prepared for us this time?
Listener 4857: The Art of the Possible by Poat
Now there’s an intriguing title: I wonder what hare Poat might have set running this time? (Poor chap: there’s no escape from the poor animal now.) We can sure it will be a good ’un though, so let’s see.
Listener 4856: If You Say So by Tuds
“Tuds” we say. “Is this really a debut or a combination of experienced setters? Surely no-one begins their setting career with a Listener?”
Listener 4855: Just the Job by Hedgehog
It’s that time of the quarter again, when as word not number people our main instinct is to take cover; but the Blog Must Go On, so here’s our attempt.
Listener 4854 Pickle by Skylark
It was good to see Skylark again, one of the very few lady setters. Literary themes are one of her specialities and we were going to be hunting for a book title in … Read more >>
Listener No 4853 Twisted Sister by Ifor
Grids with no bars (and a bar pattern that is not symmetrical and must not be shown) and clues giving no word lengths are somewhat daunting. There’s an intriguing device that is going … Read more >>
Listener No 4852 Genius by Degen
It seems we have a new setter here. We have something (or things) circling the perimeter and will find four words that will be removed from clues that will provide the unchecked letters.