Cryptic crossword No 38

Wow! Quite a tour-de-force here, excellent work, thanks GG. Hard to pick a fave here, they're all good, but I'll nominate 12a and 5d for pure chutzpah worthy of 'Paul'! I remember using a similar device to 5d myself once: (SPOILER ALERT) (contd.)...

Thanks Gradgrind, a nice mixture of easier and harder clues. 18a was a new word for me, although I managed to construct it from the word-play which is always nice. I must admit I didn't spot the theme until I read Laccaria's comments. Favourites were 1d, 15a, 16a and 25a.

Ouch! I seem to have lost the solution, not only to this puzzle but all the others I worked on. Also had to login again. Don't recall deleting cookies (perhaps my AV took charge?) or did you do an upgrade Raider? No prob. with the ones I finished, do a REVEAL ALL, but...

VERY good crossword - well done! I kept finding myself thinking something was awry, but every time I eventually realised it was all spot on. I think this is testament to the clues’ deceptive intricacies...

Lovely crossword. I think my favourite clue was 23D, because it is so hard to do interesting clues for short words. It took me ages to parse 1D. Now if only it had referred to Johnson... Didn't get 17D but on seeing the answer the clue's perfectly fair.

I distributed this to my crossword group who appreciated the mix of easier and challenging clues. Some clever constructions and not too many anagrams was the verdict. We hadn’t spotted the theme until I read the comments but enjoyed looking for them in the answers. Thanks G