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A Listener of the old school with a grid half full of non-words. Nothing wrong with that, but the theme is well-worn and I found the puzzle a bit tedious. It's probably very tough if one doesn't get the quote early, which I did by guessing the poet and the first three words from the four extra letters I had identified in the first batch of clues. It would also be very tough for someone without access to some pattern-matching crossword program. The poem is rather more interesting than the puzzle, in my opinion.

I can't see the point of a clue like 1d where we have a definition to a nine-letter word, which is not in itself thematic (and could be one of many) and wordplay to a four-letter word that is the grid entry. I did work out the longer word but I almost couldn't be bothered. In effect the longer answer has six unchecked letters, hardly indicative of a crossword.

However, to counterbalance that negativity, I will credit the setter with a very good grid that has some nice traps for the unwary.

Murky, according to TEA there is only one 9-letter word that satisfies the definition to 1d, has exactly 5 qualifying deletions and gives the 4-letter entry.

I have to love a crossword with so many 13 and 11 letter answers. Thanks, Ifor

Congratulations Murky

I really liked this one. But without Quinapalus it would have been impossible for me.

I was completely unaware of the theme or it's scientific letter selection criteria. But it was clearly going to be impossible if there were no consistent rule by which the deletions were going to be made.

Now for Wiki

Buzzb, that may be so, but not everyone has TEA. Most setters probably do, but most solvers who are not setters probably don't.

Obviously I'm in a minority of one in finding it a not particularly engaging crossword.

I am vehemently, vehemently against any crossword where you can have worked out all the hidden messages and how everything has to work and still need to take hours checking over small details.

As such I'm going to break the habit of a while and ask if anyone can help me understand 29d. I've found a possible material but I don't see any relationship to the wordplay. It's possible that I've got 33a wrong because while I have an answer that matches that definition, again, I don't understand the "moral might" part.

Not actually a very fun crossword overall, which is a shame when the central column is bona fide genius.

Verlaine, I could not agree more. I have the same problems, and have an answer for 28a that I can't definitively sat is correct. Oral might explains 33a.

Hi Verlaine,
I didn't see the wordplay for 29 either. So it was the one time that I paid attention to the pairings rule. Checking 1D, I could see that in that clue the definition did not refer to the entry, therefore in 29D it does. Therefore 29 is a real word, and there aren't too many options for S?NN. 33 is YONI, from MYLONITE (only anagramed in homophone of might).
I don't really get the talk about TEA. The only solving aids I needed were the usual online anagram solver, onelook, TCD and ODQ. Generally the solving wasn't tiresome and was quite interesting for the longer words, some of which I was unfamiliar with.

Verlaine, the entry for 29d is a word meaning a shrub that yields fibre for making rope, given by the definition. The wordplay is the last three words, with the last T of 'stunt' being extra; 'Staggered = anagrind; one = AN. The answer from the wordplay is undefined.

In 33a M of MORAL is extra. ORAL indicates homophone (of MIGHT)

Hi Gitto, 28 is exploring the wonderful world of Scottish words for disturbance : out of rammy, stramash and stushie probably stushie is at the milder end of the range. Drop the thematic exclusions and you're left with SUSHI. Sus, Hi.

Gitto, the first two words of the clue are wordplay to the entry, a food item. Ad a non-thematic letter after the first letter, then a non-thematic letter to the end and you'll get a Scottish word for brother (there are various spellings).