Cryptic crossword No 3,163

Thanks boznut for a cracker of a crossword filled with clever wordplay and silky surfaces. My top picks included 7a, 10a, 11a, 13a, 15a, 21a, 24a, and 6d. More in reply.

Hi Boznut - thanks for the puzzle - the surfaces are all very rich which makes it fun to solve as well as thematically appropriate! Favourites probably 10a, 11a, 15a, 3d but then 25-a's surface applies! Cheers

Hi boznut, this was my first taste of your mycrossword cuisine and I was really impressed. As Gennaro comments, both wordlplay and surfaces are really top-class. Witty, elegant and in places hilarious! I liked the clever use of synonyms in some of the wp (eg 8a, 13a, 17d, 29d), the well-chosen inclusion indicators (eg 7a, 18a, 21a, 1d, 2d, 3d)(quite a few!) and anagrinds (eg 15a, 14d.) Other faves: 10a, 11a,12a, 26a, 6d & 23d. I also picked up on Gennaro’s quiblets and have one of my own below

Very good boznut, thanks. I breezed through much of the right hand side but then made rather heavy weather of the left hand side, ultimately needing to reveal a few letters. That’s not unusual for me, particularly with this sort of grid, which has so few checked initial letters. Lots of cracking surfaces and enjoyable wordplay. My favourites were: 7a, 10a, 11a, 18a, 17d and 23d. Spoilers …

Bookmarking. (want to get to this tomorrow, thanks)

Very enjoyable crossword, thanks boznut. Good surfaces and concise clues all the way through, but I'll nominate 25a, 3d and 14d as favourites.

Very good crossword, thank you, both wordplay and surfaces hit the mark. Favourites 11a, 5d, 13a, 14d, 24a, 10a, 7a, 18a, 25a, 19d. ...