Cryptic crossword No 2,497

Thanks again to Amoeba for the tough love. Any errors or dubious clueing are fully owned by me. Feedback welcomed.

Great! Thank you for the entertainment. Lots to enjoy - favourite is the definition in 1a. Poss spoiler in reply.

Thanks Ruskin, this was a fair challenge and very enjoyable to solve; a nice idea and well executed. 16a,18a an excellent spot. Favourites for me 1a, 14a, 23a, 26a; 2d, 6d,11d, 22d. One small spoiler in reply.

Thanks Ruskin, that was quite an achievement. My top picks were 23a, 24a, 26a, 2d, 15d, and 22d. More in reply.

Plenty to like in this, Ruskin, though I would strongly suggest amending the clue for 12a as, surely, everyone who attempts this is going to scratch their heads and will not see your Annotations until later. Faves inc 9a, 23a, 26a, 2d, 19d and 22d. Thanks. PM

Thanks Ruskin, nicely done. Faves 1a (that question mark doing a *lot* of work!), 14a (had similar doubt as Tink originally, I think, but the "quickly" makes that part accurate I'd say), the deceptively simple 23a, slightly surreal 29a, 2d (partly because it was the only way I managed to then get 4d), and 7d (v nice definition). Spoilers ...

Nice one Ruskin, thanks. Enjoyed the theme although it took me an age to work out the key component. Quite a tricky puzzle I thought with the NE particularly difficult for reasons that others have identified. Favourites: 1a (I always enjoy a transferred epithet!), 24a, 29a, 7d and 25d.

Thanks Ruskin, another great puzzle. Took me a while to get started but everything gradually fell into place. Only parsing that defeated me was 13A. I liked 28A.