Cryptic crossword No 1,895

Today’s experiment: fewer clues, longer answers. My instinct tells me that fewer clues and more crossers per answer could make the whole thing easier to solve, although there are some trickier clues so maybe it balances out? I’m curious how you find it, difficulty-wise 😁

Thanks Henri. What appeared to be daunting at first ended up being quite gentle. I found this on the easier end of your range; maybe that was the result of your definitions being clearcut to me. My top picks were 8a, 16a, 20a, 1d, and 7d.

Thanks Henri. I did this puzzle today and enjoyed it. I found it fairly straightforward once I got in the headspace. I didn’t get 19d but apart from that i managed it! I especially liked 8a, 15a, 1d, 2d, and 7d.

Agreeing with other comments that this was more accessible than I might have expected. I particularly admired 11a, 16a, 2d, 4d, 5d, 19d and enjoyed others. A couple defeated me (8a, 12d), but that was partly impatience and not letting it percolate long enough. A couple of little eyebrow twitches also (10a, 3d), but won’t let that spoil the fun. Thanks for that!

Nice one, thanks Henri. I don’t think I found this as gentle as other commenters but I guess it all depends on how quickly you solve a few of the 15ers. Another factor that ups the difficulty is that 60% of the solutions start with an unchecked cell. Favourites: 8a, 16a, 1d, 2d, 7d, 13d and 17d.

Hi Henri and thanks for another nice puzzle. I did not see your comment until after I'd finished but had certainly clocked the longer answers - which also seemed to lead to a few longer clues. Personally, I prefer more variety in solution lengths - and if the choice was forced on me, I'd opt for more short words than long ones. Nothing wrong with the clues here, though, and faves inc 10a, 15a, 1d, 3d and 7d. Thanks. PM

Bit late to this one Henri, although I needed a couple of attempts to finish - some lovely cluing as per, with 15a, 16a, 3d and 13d the favourites. I'll echo PM in generally preferring to solve more short, concise words than the alternative, but it was still nicely done. Thanks!

Enjoyed this Henri, interesting grid and some clever clues. I have to admit I usually DNF yours, but as others have noted this one was more manageable. I liked 1d, 16a, 17d, and 7d.