Listen With Others

“Lysander” we discover is the code-name of a Covey-Crump partnership (“Aedites” – Dr P A K C-C) whom regular solvers will know well – and Anthony C-C), and this is their second Listener, the last being no. 4656 in which all the answers had to be enciphered before entry. That is always quite a challenge: will this be another.

While pondering that I came across the the “fun fact” that one A.T.L. Covey-Crump, a Commander in the Royal Navy,  was creator in 1955 of the Naval slang compendium Covey-Crump. Wonderful!

Well, to work. The preamble was straightforward, and the endgame device a new one, and that was the hall-mark of the whole puzzle. The clues were clear and well-constructed, and few of them needed the help of the dictionary; and the required latter-names appeared straightforwardly in the grid blocks, and resolved without a problem into words in the mini-grid. It was probably my quickest Listener solve of the year.

Three cheers, though, for some easier puzzles as well as the difficult ones, especially when they are as well put together as this and add something new into the mix too. Thankyou Lysander.