Cryptic crossword No 1,655

Absolutely superb creation, Meles. (It WAS you who compiled this, yes?) A joyous solve from start to finish with loads to like. 4a, 8a, 9a, 10a, 19a, 24a, 2d, 7d, 9d, 17d and 21d. Spoilers in Reply. Thanks. PM

A rare de-lurk for me here Meles but I had to congratulate you on the 9A 9D which didn't 1A - 10A 18A PM's praise.

Great stuff, Meles! I don't normally like 9 across 9 down, but it's entirely forgivable on this one occasion. :) Some fine clues - I particularly liked LEMUR, ECHO, TIMELESS and LOSERS. I wonder if you could have done something similar with a different pseudonym - Nebuchadnezzar, say!

Absolutely delightful, a most creative puzzle full of satisfying clueing. I can't top the jokes/puns/clue references already exhibited so will jump straight to commending 4a (fun surface, neat), 9a (great), 10a (satisfying), 11a (neat), 14a (nice def), 19a (very clean), 22a (nice), 24a (very neat, smooth joint surface), 29a (neat), 2d (lovely), 5d (neat), 7d (nice), 16d (neat), 17d (nice spot and def), 20d (smooth) and 25d (neat) - bravo!

Wonderful stuff! Who knew you could win so much out of this concept?! Bravo 👏 Some superb clues too like 9a and 20d (both great examples of the device), 26a, 5d and 22a. Thanks!

Great stuff, thanks Meles - it's all about you, isn't it?! Particularly enjoyed 18a (when finally parsed!), 1d, 7d & 20d, but overall theming the star. Thanks again!

What a great puzzle! Who made it?

Lovely stuff, Meles - a clever idea, well executed. I've got ticks against 1a, 14a, 18a, 4d, 13d and 20d.

Late to comment, Meles, but I did enjoy this a lot. Very nicely done indeed. And to think that I scrupulously left myself out of #1634! Favourites: 9a, 14a, 18a, 29a, 17d and 20d.

Lovely stuff, Meles, very amusing and enjoyable to solve.

Thanks Meles for an egocentric tour de force. My top picks were 9a, 12a, 22a, 3d, 6d, 9d, and of course 13d. Good work.