Cryptic crossword No 1,744

A note on the theme can be found in the reply, offering a mild spoiler or a bit of a nudge, whichever way you see it.

Very good! I kind of spotted it with my FOI 9a but it subsequently turned out that my guess was only partly right 😆 some fab clues (inc 6a, 7a, 6d, 21d) but a few toughies at the end, necessitating a rare use of the Reveal button *shakes fist* but it all checked out! A fabulous achievement, bravo 👏 couple of spoiler additions in the reply

Thanks Mallimack, lovely stuff. Faves include 6a, 13a (odd to have that in a faves list 😜), 17a, 20a, 2d, 6d (silly & fun), 12d, 21d (LOI) & 24d. Spoilers ...

Thanks Mallimack. I solved (or guessed) most of this but ended up revealing a handful. My top picks were 10a, 2d, 5d, and 8d. I had zero chance of twigging the theme as it was way beyond my abilities.

Enjoyed this one, Mallimack, and found it at your more approachable end. I had been nervous about the SI but it seemed there were not going to be necessary to complete the solve. Lots of ticks for me with some ingenious cluing, even if it were slightly gentler. 6a, 15a, 28a, 3d, 6d, 16d and 21d were my faves. Spoiler in reply. Thanks. PM

Nice one Mallimack, thanks. I thought I was really going to struggle to start with but somewhere they solutions kept coming and I only revealed a couple (16d and 21d). Very nicely worked theme, which I only very vaguely appreciated before reading your notes. Still bemused by 4d. Favourites: 9a, 13a (what Fez said), 5d, 6d, 12d and 24d.

Thanks Mallimack, what a fantastic theme! Recognised a good few, though lots I had no idea about till reading the notes, fascinating! Favourites included, 9a, 11a, 20a 😆, 26a, 6d, 8d, 14d, 21d. Spoilers..

Thanks Mallimack, great idea and nicely executed. I guessed what was going on and nice to learn some things outside of my limited knowledge! I've not seen the anagrind in 17d before and it works nicely. Other favourites were 15a, 17a, 5d, 16d and 24d (really like this one).