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 special instructions or additional information should also be included.
HINTS only, please, no answers.

THE THEME
Requests may be made here for help towards the theme. 'Gentle nudges' is hard to define, of course, but it's worth trying. Aim to help without revealing too much, without spoiling things for other solvers. The theme itself should not be revealed under any circumstances.

Early solvers should avoid all allusions - jocular or otherwise - to the theme.

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

Haven't started yet but must be one of the most impenetrable preambles for a long time. Hopefully all will become blindingly clear as we progress...

Indeed, SH. I'm utterly baffled. Hoping it will eventually piece itself together with enough solved clues.

I was late to begin this, but it all comes out in the wash. The preamble is indeed pretty impenetrable. I filled the grid before I worried much about it. Unusual puzzle, which won’t appeal to all

(Predictably) It has very little appeal for me but I jumped through enough hoops to get the full definition in place without the torture of trying to fathom the numerical sequence.
I could take a wild guess at what ''the second says'' I should do with the rest of it... but I won't bother.

I didn’t think it would be your cup of tea, drxx!

I think this one barely manages to fulfil two of Schaffer's seven conditions for 'flow', quisling (I've gone all magenta on my flow chart).

Enjoyed it.

Some tricky clues made the gridfill non-trivial and a different sort of endgame which led to a satisfying and neat finish.

Thanks Gnomish

I have two thirds of the grid filled but regret to say that I am finding this one a joyless slog. At 36 across I have a canton but no idea how the clue works and am seriously thinking about binning the puzzle in light of the comments of drxx and quisling. Is it worth my while plodding on?

36a needs two letters removed, bobby. Sneakily, from different words (last and first letters, obvs).