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grunos

31st May 2020, 19:41
if you're referring to 28dn, Dickens is a euphemism for The Devil
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lofthouse

31st May 2020, 19:53
Thanks very much.
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cass

31st May 2020, 19:54
All finished before tea-time, but the end result somehow felt a bit 'flat'. The puzzle/grid itself was a masterpiece of ingenuity and, so, 'hats off to Harribobs' for a complex design, but no discernable 'end game' made me feel a tad disappointed.

Second grid straight-forward, just a bit of concentration required. AA Road Map c2017 helped to quickly ID the 2 extra destinations.

This year has been a good one for Listener Crosswords, and welcomed by me (a learner & ex-Azed). Roll on next Saturday...
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loge

31st May 2020, 21:43
I agree with the poster on Answerbank who said. “This was not so much a crossword for solvers, so much as a technical exercise in virtuoso setting.” The construction is breathtaking, but for me the refill of the grid was a tedious slog, mitigated slightly by the satisfaction of getting the final place names.

Harribobs is a fine setter who has produced masterpieces such as the national flag puzzle for the Listener and the American states puzzle for the Inquisitor. In this case I think he still shows us his brilliance but has forgotten the fun factor. I’m confident his next one will be terrific, as long as it’s not another tour...
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stacpolly

1st June 2020, 08:55
Really don't get this one.
Completed first grid fill relatively painlessly then floundered understanding what Harribobs means you to do next.
I'm assuming the grid refill takes place using the plain rather than cycled across solutions (though he doesn't say this).
If you refill using the plain across solutions in presented clue order (ignoring the bars as answer separators) you get 114 filled cells followed by 30 unfilled cells starting at row 10, cell 7.
This can't be right since it seems the 30 letters of the two extra destinations have to be scattered throughout the grid with the first letter of the first extra destination sitting at row 1, cell 1 and the fourth letter of destination 1 at row 8, cell 1.
The first letter of the first destination can be any of the 26 letters of the alphabet so how come a previous post has narrowed it down to just one of 4 letters?
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tatters

1st June 2020, 09:17
For the 2nd grid, you start with M in the top left corner. This sends you to 2,2 [13 cells on] to place the 2nd letter and then to 3,11 [21 cells on] for the final letter.. then to 4,12 etc etc.

After entering all the across answers you end up with an S at 3,10 and have 30 empty cells

That S tells you that the first letter of the first destination will go 19 cells further on in 5,5

There are only 4 blank cells within reach of 5,5 .. and to reach those you are restricted to o,p,r and s
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loge

1st June 2020, 09:19
I hope I've remembered this correctly. The last letter of the known entries is in Row 3, Column 10 and it's an S. That means the first letter of the first extra destination will be 19 on from that, in Row 5, Column 5. The next empty squares are 15, 16, 18 and 19 on from that, which means that the place can begin with O, P, R or S.
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lumen

1st June 2020, 09:36
I’m keen to have a stab at the second grid, but have two across clues left to crack, can one of you please give me a hand with 5 and 21. Aromatic spice and chauvinist are the definitions I think.
Oh also I’m not convinced by my 20a, I have a word meaning monkeys but cannot parse it at all.
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stacpolly

1st June 2020, 09:38
Thanks so much Tatters and Loge.
My reading of the preamble told me that ONLY the two extra destinations were to be entered in the 'A = one space on....Z = 26 spaces on' method. You've made it clear to me that the WHOLE refill was to take place in that fashion.
So Harribobs why did you not make this clear - and why (as I said in my previous post) did you not make it clear that the refill was to take place with the plain rather than cycled version of the answers?
Whereas ambiguity in cluing is the heartbeat of cryptic crosswords, crystal clarity should be the rule when it comes to preambles.
Sorry Harribobs to be critical but I do hope you take this onboard as you proceed to set more of your amazing crosswords.
Thanks.
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tatters

1st June 2020, 09:42
5 - latin for I love followed by a word for mother
21 j + 4letter scottish word for entrance
20 you probably have the right letters but start with an O rather than an M
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