Listener Crossword 4116 - A(nother) Game of 1 by Glow-worm

[starwalker]

Although I am nowhere near finished, the grid-fill seems fairly straightforward. Despite the very long preamble, I am not expecting any major problems, so please can we try to keep any hints to an absolute minimum.

[bellabee]

can you actually get stoned on this stuff then?

[serpentinew]

Bellabee - re the end game and your concerns to highlight the winner. I've read and re-read the preamble and think the words "must highlight the winner" mean just that with letters in the right order. This involves selecting one of the 2 identities as the winner. After Xanthippe's recent ambiguous preamble - this one too - leaves a bit to be desired or certainly my take on it does. You solve the puzzle discard one of two sets of letters as be the alphabetic substitution then the dilemma is then which group of 5 letters to show to highlight the winner. My best guess, as that's all it can be is that it is the identity first in the alphabet of the 2 possibilities which exists as a dog leg in the grid.

[StSylvia]

Can someone explain 33ac to me? The only solution I have is a proper name that seems to have nothing to do with the clue.

[serpentinew]

StSylvia - it's not a proper name nor in the singular, as far as I can see in Chambers. A fairly common scottish word should point you in the right direction.

[bellabee]

serpentinew-it must be obvious to the editors that there is scope for interpretation with this one. there are only 5 letters here with nothing that would score highly on a scrabble board - plus, the 'dog leg' could be straightened out a bit and still give the name - so with that in mind i'm going to highlight the 'five letters which form'.....the eerie silence on this issue is starting to gnaw away at me though ....have i got this one completely wrong... anyone ???

[Mysterons]

http://www.scots-onli...ctionary/engscots.htm

The names are anagrammed serpentinew, so you don't need to make the choice.

[serpentinew]

How can you be sure Mysterons?

[Alekhine]

Does anyone else think that the 'identity crisis' could be the blurring of two five-letter names?

[bellabee]

indeed serpentinew - certainty is the one thing lacking in this recent run of listeners.

[contendo]

Much of the recent discussion has gone over my head, especially the talk of dog-legs. Are we really meant to be looking for dog-legs? Am I right in thinking that the 5-letter names become possible as a logical outcome of the solver's cohabitation?

[aldanna]

Tilbee, yes I did find that reading the preamble properly sorted out my consonant/vowel problem. Reminds me of my teaching days and the number of times I told the children to read the question. Still can't find any names yet. Will put it away for a day or two to mature in my subconscious.

[Staurologist]

1. Why is one of the children having an identity crisis? There are two possibilities. The 39, as the preamble tells us, points along a line where you find two sets of five letters that "form" [or could form] the names; in one case, two possible [girls'] names emerge; presumably this could be interpreted as an identity crisis. However, the boy's name is marked in Chambers as being "of uncertain meaning", so that could be it instead. The ambiguity of "form" is also regrettable, and presumably has led to all the talk about dogs legs, which seems to me to be unnecessary. Setters and checkers, whose job it is to entertain solvers and not to put unnecessary barriers in their way, should always be on the look out for such ambiguities. That doesn't mean that a puzzle should necessarily be easy, but it should in the end lead to an unambiguous solution. Here, improvements could easily have been recommended by the checker.

2. The problem at 33, StSylvia, presumably arises because you have entered the wrong variant spelling at 1 (more ambiguity). This will probably have given you the name of a famous American author, who was concerned about hair coloring, rather than the correct answer. Note that the variant spelling that is required at 1 is actually the most commonly used variant. It can also be found in Webster's Third International and other dictionaries, such as the Shorter OED, for those who don't have the Oxford Dictionary of English. It is also in the quotations and in another relevant definition in OED, but surprisingly it is not there as a variant spelling of the lemma.

[Clamzy]

Serpentinew - The preamble states that the 39 points to two sets of 5 letters which form the children's names i.e., a boy and a girl. I don't think 39 points to a dog's leg and hadn't even noticed that until reading your post.

[catstail]

Started this last night and already have a few filled in - not bad for me. Thought I had 47ac but can't find the meaning I was anticipating for my anagram. Plenty of time still before I reach dog legs or not-doglegs so am plodding on.
teuchter2 - my condolences on your loss.

[contendo]

No-one answered Mysterons's point about 3dn. You need to consider another reading of "break" Mysterons. As for me, I'm lost. I thought maybe the first sentence meant anagramming the children's names with the solver ("cohabiting") but on reflection I think the cohabiting just refers to the division of the central 9 squares. Despite re-reading the preamble several times am still mystified as to how to reduce 12 squares to 2 x 5.

[x_word_fan]

My daughter tells me that C S Lewis had a male character with an identity crisis - sounds tenuous I know.

[Mysterons]

Thanks Contendo, but 'break' singular won't define the word you refer to - I think it is an oversight. Regarding 12 squares into 2x5, disregard the 2 corner squares.

[serpentinew]

Clamzy - its the "must highlight the winner" which has me perturbed, not the pointing part of the preamble.

[Clamzy]

Serpentinew - I hope I have highlighted the winner, but I didn't see anything about being in the right order. In the other place there has been a vigorous discussion of Pieman's recent puzzle and Superstar Simon Long stresses that one must obey instructions but go no further.
If RR can persuade Glow-worm to do a setters blog I'll wager he didn't spot the dog's leg either:-)

[serpentinew]

Clamzy - I suspect you are right, if only because there are at least 3 variant ways to highlight the name and there is no hint as to which to use. But it does seem a missed opportunity by the setter