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I avoid using aids until I'm confronted by something like this - I cracked after a couple of hours, and some of the clues are impossible without such help (cheating?) I think. Always takes the shine off a puzzle for me.

pootle - I use the Chambers app and Bradfords freely throughout Listener and would struggle otherwise and not get as much enjoyment…..which is the key metric I work to!

Impenetrable! Solved five in two hours. All jumbles.
Think it may be first in a long time I have to abandon.

I try to limit it to 'wordwizard', I don't have any books with lists of crossword answers, no 'searchable' features (beyond my fingertips) and would never use a spreadsheet even if I knew how to set one up.
I'll readily use a Playfair cracker - I've had to do them properly a couple of times and got no enjoyment out of the process whatsoever (so, yes - enjoyment is where we find it}.

Interesting to see the different responses from drxx and candledave. For me, my traditional position, which still holds for most other puzzles, is that of drxx - having to use aids spoils the enjoyment. For the Listener I’m coming round to candledave’s position, and the more I accept I will have to use aids the more I’m enjoying it. For this puzzle I’ve used aids pretty much from the outset, but I don’t feel it has detracted much, if at all.

I too am tempted to give up on this as it is a cold solve nightmare. I only have three misprints (yib) and only 12 clues to solve. I have 15a and 20d, but can't enter them in the grid because both are ambiguous. 29a is driving me up the wall. Are my misprints. not necessarily in the right order, correct? and is the definition in 4d confirmed by Chambers? Finally, drxx, if you do not use online tools, you are a genius!

29a drove me up the wall too, gitto - i was hooked on heraldry for far too long. It doesn't help that the def 'figurehead' is a bit loose (to my mind) 3 letter old-fashioned 'idiot' around to shield/(beard maybe?) + 2 letters each for 'trustee' and 'document'.

Hi Gitto,

4d - not really, it just gives "continue" and "retain, continue to employ" - unless I've got it wrong!

Maintain gives carry on as a def which is pretty close to continue so think it’s ok

If you get 29a you'll be able to enter 20d (for 15a the last three letters of the shortened word ends the entry).
I did use wordwizard for this one, gitto - so, no genius, I'm sorry to say.