Cryptic crossword No 1,870

Thanks moobius. I think this is the first of yours I’ve done here. All was going in smoothly and enjoyably until I hit the SW quadrant, where things seemed more difficult, for me at least. I appreciated 9a, 10a, 5d, 8d, 21d most but there was much to like elsewhere. Some of the constructions I found an overstretch for one reason or another (e.g. 14a, 6d, 12d, 15d), not sure what others might think. But I might have fared better if they had been more strategically placed around the grid. Thx agn!

I also found the South to be quite tricky, though in my case more the SE. I did have to reveal 16d and 14a, the second of which gave me the crossers to complete the SE. Some quite unusual definitions in here and the odd construction I struggled to parse. Faves included 5a, 9a, 25a, 6d (though I did not know the synonym), 7d (runner up in terms of COTD as well), 21d (COTD). Thanks. PM

Thanks moobius, this was very enjoyable to solve. I found it mostly straightforward but a few tricky ones that held out a bit longer. Favourites were 9a (good spot), 23a, 7d (really like "runner-up"), 12d and 21d.

Good to see you here again moobius, and thanks for a very good puzzle. I did pretty well with this before hitting a brick wall 80% in, held up by many of the same clues highlighted as tricky by others. Particularly enjoyed 9a, 24a, 25a, 3d, 12d and 19d.

Thank you. Like Coot, I got about 3/4 of the way through before needing help to finish. Enjoyed 5a, 11a, 3d, 4d, 8d, 21d...