Cryptic crossword No 843

"Big Vision" by Fez. Don't worry, you can merrily ignore these Special Instructions for *most* of the solve! But to complete the puzzle: One answer exceeds its enumeration, so must be thematically modified to fit. Solvers should find, hidden in the grid, a "set-up" (7 words) and a linking phrase (3 words) - and then use the "punchline" to change the over-long solution to a thematically appropriate word that fits in the space available. If interested, some commentary below - but no spoilers...

Very cleverly done, Fez. I spotted some but not all of what I was meant to spot! Lots of very clever clues along the way including 8a (nice mislead), 11a (short and sweetly done), 12a (nice treatment), 16a (clever misdirection), 25a (beautifully done - COTD), 1d (podium for a splendid surface reference), 3d (lol), 6d (great surface again), 19a (for the self deprecation, third podium slot), 24d (beautiful construction and surface). Spoilers in Reply. Thanks. PM

Wonderful grid again, Fez: I spotted the same amount as PM for the SI, but there were many excellent clues along the way. Favourites include 16a (superb), 27a, 33a, 5d, 24d, and 26d. Thanks!

Even before appreciating the full extent of the trickery at play within the SI, this was an incredibly satisfying puzzle to solve. While I'm in the camp with the others re: spotting ability, I enjoyed seeing all the wonders this grid had to offer with help from your kind self! Lots of lovely clues, my favourites being 8a (very neat), 11a (likewise), 12a (top cycling surface), 14a (cute), 21a (nice assembly), 23a (exquisitely neat), 25a (lovely wordplay), 27a (clean), 4d/5d (fun linked surface)..

Oh bravo 👏 I do one or two ‘pro’ published crosswords a day and yet nothing puts a smile on my face quite like your puzzles. This is magnificent. I refused to look at your notes until I had resolved every aspect of your SI and I eventually got there! The grid was interesting, almost 9 mini-puzzles, and my first third was relatively straightforward so I had much of one of the devices spotted early on. I think the rest of my comments are spoilery so —>

Brilliant Fez! Unfortunately, I think I’m just not quite a good enough solver to cope with the additional complexity of the SI. Here I solved most of the puzzle but ended up stuck on a quite a few of the 4-5 letter solutions, resorting to reveals and distracting me from the final task in hand. More about this in the reply. No quibbles though and lots of great clues: 12A, 23A, 25A, 2D, 5D, 6D, 7D, 24D and 31D my favourites.

Perhaps appropriately, this took me several bites! But very good fun - the working of the endgame was a step too far for me, although I figured out the final answer. Favourite individual clues included 12a, 27a, 15d, 24d, and 26d. Thanks Fez!

Excellent! I managed all but the last step.