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Whilst I was struggling to fill the grid the relevance of the helpful message had completely eluded me!! A neat and clever puzzle which, for me at least, proved rather tricky in starting the grid fill. Normally in carte blanc puzzles the longer entries have checked letters which gives a sort of "starter for 10" - not so in this case.

Just looked at this weeks "I" and it is another carte blanche - we're being spoilt this week-end!

keepatit - the answers are entered normally as in not in jumbles as I said on the original post.

Anyway this debate is more likely to give things away so I’m withdrawing gracefully now.

Hope everyone has a good Easter break

Candledave, the point you seem to miss is that the preamble does not preclude jumbles. It does not say anything about the entry method. You do. That is where you are giving something away

If we consider CD's post to be unacceptable then there is no point having this weekly thread at all.

The thread advertises itself as "Hints and Gentle Nudges to Theme" and CD's reply gave the lowest possible amount of real assistance.

The only reason that I didn't respond to the original question was that I suspected that those professionally offended chaps among us might throw a wobbly. I am pleased to see that Norah hasn't over-reacted.

All i can say is that if cd has said too much, its not enough for me! I'm still stuck in cold solve central, 18 out of 36 solved.

The long answers are often the key to carte blanches, so please can anyone provide a hint for:

"intended to soundproof air-conditioning, to expel in incomplete quiet" (10)

"quiet road through one rural region woth no outer barrier" (10)

Thanks in advance

Definitions are the first three and last four words respectively.

Thirdman-
yup, your supposition is correct - although this Forum isn't perhaps the place to conduct such a flirtation; my fault for providing perhaps TMI; anyway, I was in 8ABi with the legendary Sid Pask (other mentees Jonathan Miller, Oliver Sacks etc etc) and what HM was recoiling from was a writhing mass of nematodes on a projecting microscope screen that I'd mischievously set up in the hope of just such a reaction - the DofE was fascinated.
We must stop meeting like this - let's find a way of exchanging contact info - however, I fear that if I'm too explicit Quisling will hunt me down.
I've identified a number of other Listener pseudos accidentally through outside conversations - one, who's now my Listener buddy, when I won a prize - John Green publishes the winners' names in 'clear' - I'd known her unsuspectingly for years.
Jazzgirl twigged my real life identity years ago through mention of the instrument on which and where I'd played Jazz - bloody clever!

Thirdman -
your intriguing cognomen suggests a conceivable involvement with a notorious incubator of espionage that I entered a year or so after the events involving HM's visit to SPS that we just discussed - I just attended a geriatric reunion dinner there only 3 days ago - while the dates you give don't, I think, make it possible that you would also have attended, can the bizarre serendipity of The Listener possibly mean that you are a co-alumnus thereof?
Anyone else?

Candledave

As others have already pointed out, you included the word 'normally'. This wasn't in the preamble, and was something that we solvers were intended to deduce. My first hypothesis (wrong as it turned out) was that the answers wouldn't be entered normally, but in some other thematic way.

I think the ship has sailed, since it's now Saturday afternoon, but I don't think woodlouse should have asked the question on Friday evening, nor should it have been answered. Just my 2p, ymmv.