Cryptic crossword No 1,762

Deleted

Hi all! It was brought to my attention that a definition had a horribly offensive connotation of which I was completely unaware — all I had in mind was a card suit. I am incredibly embarrassed not to have known, and have since updated now. Sincere apologies to any who saw, it was a really honest mistake.

Thanks Maguff, found this very tricky in parts & good fun. Faves 11a (for the Chilton reference), 12a, 13a, 14a, 23a, 27a, 4d, 21d & 24d Spoilers ...

I found this fun but quite tricky, Maguff, and also a bit of a curates egg. This is perhaps partly as your style is new to me, partly because of the over-stretchiness Fez alludes to and partly because I'm not the best solver! Faves were 12a (but description as homophone? Where's the sound?), 14a, 23a, 2d, 6d (good WP, but def could be better), 16d, 20d, 21d. Thanks for the fun.

Phew. Got to the end but it was hard going, Maguff. Not always on your wavelength and, whilst I did solve the vast majority, I'd have to agree that some of the cluing is on the stretchy side. A lesson we have ALL had to learn: it's fine to start off aspiring to be quirky, clever, boundary-pushing etc. But, if the goal is for the solvers to actually solve, getting the basics right before pushing those boundaries is a wise strategy. Thanks. PM