Cryptic crossword No 1,981

Very elegant, as ever, with immaculate, pretty clueing. Gloriously friendly. Nicely subtle theme too. I could pretty much list them all. Suffice to say, I loved 9a and 28a’s surfaces, 24d’s “at first opportunity” is a lovely touch, 22a’s def is a belter and 4d is delightful. Cracking indicator in 11a and 25d’s nicely unusual. Oh, and 20d’s a cracking misdirect too. Etc. Definitively NON quibbles ...

Very enjoyable. Highlights for me were 8a (nice anagram), 9a, 22a (for the definition), 26a, 2d, 7d, 20d and many more. Very much enjoyed the theme too

Marvellous, and a surprisingly breezy solve as I happened to get 15d early enough for it to be really quite helpful. Some lovely surfaces as per usual, with favourite clues being 9a, 11a, 12a, 22a, 32a, 4d, 14d and 24d. Cheers!

Top stuff, thanks PM. Faves include 9a, 16a, 22a (COTD, for def), 28a, 1d, 3d, 7d & 14d. And very nicely themed too, only spotted thanks to 15d but then became glaringly obvious (and helpful to finish off in SE) ... thanks again!

Nice one, PM. I didn't find it a walk in the park, but enjoyable nonetheless. Favourites 11a, 22a (COTD), 31a, 1d, 4d, 14d, 15d, 24d. Cheers!

Thanks PostMark for a reliably excellent set of clues. My favourites were 9a, 21a, 4d, 7d, and 29d. I was beaten by 32a.

Nice one PM, thanks. I found this pretty tough - rather reminiscent of the tussles I used to have with your puzzles. Despite solving 15d relatively early, I stupidly failed to spot the full significance of it. No doubt the puzzle would have been easier had I twigged. Favourites: 9a, 12a, 28a, 31a, 6d, 14d and 30d.

Thanks PM. As others have said, immaculate clueing and compelling surfaces. I found it straight forward to start with but chewy to finish off. Didn't spot the theme (I never do!) so that didn't help. Faves were 9a, 12a, 18a, 22a, 23a (home for opponents is very tricksy/clever), 31a, 5d, 19d.

Late to this, but very enjoyable - I not only spotted the theme, but it helped me. Unheard of! Favourites included 12a, 20a, 6d, 14d, and 29d. Just one quibble below...

Enjoyable puzzle, thank you, spotted the theme early - which helped although still found it tricky in parts. Likes included 9a, 12a, 16a, 22a, 3d, 29d. Thank you.

Nice work PM. I especially liked 1d which is a particularly nice spot for the theme! 9a and 4d make the rest of my podium. And being expansive my other faves were 15d, 31a and 27d