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I put this aside thinking I was defeated. Picked it up again yesterday and was hit by the blindingly obvious: the instruction means exactly what it says, not what I was trying to make it mean. D’oh!

Thanks all for the replies. I know which of my proposals I'll go for, but it feels a little unsatisfying and not really indicated, in my opinion.

And now I'm somewhat confused again by Jack's post: if I take that instruction exactly then only six columns are affected... which makes me wonder about a solution which involves folding as well?

smst - no folding required, I sense you’re overcomplicating it

You should have two 7 string pieces of thematic material in the grid. The aim is to do the first three words of the instructions to those thematic strings so that you are left with a rectangular grid with a thematic name in one outer column and a real word in the other

Sorry if that is giving too much away but the puzzle is now almost a week old

Thanks Dave, but this is where I think there's confusion: if I do exactly as you suggest, the first part of the two part instruction doesn't leave me with two pieces, but rather with a grid with a 7-cell wide hole in it (or, if being even more literal, a grid with two slots).

This is why I've become more confused when I read people saying they figured it out by following it exactly (emphasising the exactness): one has to interpret the instructions less precisely if one is to have it apply to the whole width of the grid. If one applies the instruction to the 7-cell strings (or to the 3-cell strings which are perhaps implied elsewhere in the puzzle) then not enough is achieved.

I don't wish to argue btw, and I can see a final grid that is surely what's wanted (five correct columns included), but I'm not satisfied that the instructions lead me from here to there -- which makes me think there could be something in the details that's important, and which I just can't see. Not understanding that final step can sometimes be an indication that it's actually completely wrong. 😁

CD has pretty much told the story. There may already be too much information on this thread for Listener purists; but to explain my “exactly”: the thematic process uses “whatsits” to define the boundaries of a “section” which does not - necessarily or otherwise - contain only “whatsits”. The process wouldn’t be anywhere near as useful as it is if it did. And the instruction similarly defines boundaries. It does not require the section itself to be a collection of ”whatsits”. My initial mistake was to try to interpret the instruction that way. In fact it does just “what it says on the tin”. (I may enter this post in the next mixed metaphor Olympics 🤔.)

Thanks Jack, that does actually help a lot. (I did try doing some research into the theme but couldn't find anything that I felt mapped onto this grid in a way I could understand.)

Thanks for the hints Kirky, Smellyharry, SMST, Candledave and Jack Aubrey. I finally have an amended grid which seems to work, although I am not entirely sure I understand why. I guess there must be some thematic reason for the omissions, but I cannot see it and it's time for me to call it a day with this one, as the next puzzle is almost upon us. I really enjoyed solving the excellent clues and filling the grid, but the end-game has spoiled the experience for me. Thanks again folks.

Opto, for what it’s worth, my take is that the content of the “omissions” is largely irrelevant. What the endgame illustrates is the thematic mechanism of excision, not what is excised.