Cryptic crossword No 3,433

Hi tp, I went down the traditional route and found it very satisfying - lovely surfaces and nice constructions although I did find 9a and 19d difficult to parse so needed to reveal, 24a enjoyably funny, 26 clever (and a bit chewy) - top picks 8a, 11a, 12a, 13d, 21d, thank you

Fantastic 50!! Loved it - went the traditional route, too. 11a is brilliant, so is 23a. 14a nice misdirection, 22a and of course 26a, 13d were fun, love 7d's compactness. NHO 22d but that's on me. Well done!

Thanks tpg and congratulations on a remarkable #50. Since I have solved alphabetical jigsaws in the FT before I took your suggestion and began solving this in its 'pure form'. After placing a majority of the solutions I ran into a roadblock. I checked one of my answers to see if my placement was correct and I quickly learned I had rotated the NW corner by 90 degrees. I fixed my error and everything fell into place except for the nho 22d. Favourites included 10a, 25a, 7d, 13d, and 18d. More ...

Congrats on the milestone tpg- that’s a lot of clues! I was tired sitting down to this so chose the ‘easier’ route, but still found it quite a workout. Your clues are typically very busy, with a string of different elements to unravel before the PDM, and I did end up revealing more than I would have liked. But I definitely appreciated what you’d done and picked up some new ideas I’ll be tempted to borrow myself! Favourites: 9a, 12a, 14a (what LeoNessie said), 22a, 7d, 16d, & 21d.

Congratulations! What a neat way to celebrate. I only figured out the trick late, but it gave me a needed push to get a few holdouts. so many satisfying clues. Faves include 8a,12a,15a,22a and 1d, 4d , 21d, 24d.

Great stuff! I did it on Hard Mode and enjoyed it very much -- probably your best yet for me. Liked 24a, 26a, 1d, 3d and 18d. Minor eyebrow wiggles in the reply ->

Hi tpgrammar, finally got around to sitting down with a pen and printout of the "hard mode" version.... And I almost made it but for M and T which prevented me getting into the southeast successfully - even with the X and Z pairs to help. Favourites were A, P & S. Congratulations on the milestone!

I thought I had posted a comment on here, tpg. But must have been distracted before pressing Post cos it ain't here. I agree with those who have said this is one of your best. Some very enjoyable surfaces, largely succinct and your constructions work well. Faves inc 12a, 14a, 24a, 26a, 2d, 7d, 18d and 21d. Thanks. PM