Cryptic crossword No 559

Hi sirdakka, good work! I really like the concept, and there are some great surfaces and definitions. I found it fairly tricky to solve as the clues are quite complex, albeit sound. 6d and 14d were my favourites and I also liked 12a (surface). Well done on a good clue for 13d - not an easy word in my experience. See below for other comments.

Very interesting experiment, sirdakka, and I think it works. Makes for an intriguing overall puzzle surface and I liked the way that you alternated ODD/EVEN in much of the clueing. A tiny bit of shoe-horning but, in my book, that's allowable when working in a surface theme. I like the variety of usage of your theme words. Plenty - plenty - to like including: 9a, 11a, 12a, 15a, 17a, 19a, 23a, 6d (splendid), 16d (ditto), 24d and 27d. Very enjoyable indeed. Thanks. PM

Apologies for late edits, but hopefully they didn't affect the solve too much to those who've already attempted it!

I love this device and you use it so cleverly! Nothing felt forced so a very enjoyable solve all round.

sirdakka, very good indeed, and fun to spend time on. I found many clues difficult at first, but sufficiently logical that they yielded to longer reflection (full disclosure: I've had an eye on the golf, but NBC's long commercials have allowed plenty of time for the puzzle). The device works well, in that its terms have real, but highly variable, function. Definitely a success - congratulations.

A wonderful puzzle - I love things like this and as others have said it very rarely felt forced. Did you decide to do this theme pre-fill or post-fill or part-way-through-fill?

Fabulous sirdakka! Very impressive to be able to create a puzzle, not just with odd or even in every clue, but specifically in the clues that are odd- or even-numbered respectively! Quite the feat! As others have said, great variety in how the key terms were used and excellent clueing overall given your constraints. Favourites were 10a, 12a, 17a, 25a, 16d, 20d, 22d and 24d.

Brilliant idea, brilliantly executed, thanks sirdakka! My favourites were 9a, 13d, 24d, 27d and 8d (surely done before, but this is the perfect puzzle for it). A couple of spoilers in reply.

A fantastic execution of a very tricky concept, nice work. Some of the parsings eluded me until I saw your notes, and to be fair they all check out so any gaps were in my decoding and not your encoding. Some words I banged-and-checked rather than them being self-evident, but I got there in the end!

Great stuff, thanks sirdakka. Really like the theme and it's well executed - these kinds of puzzles can result in quite samey clues but you have managed a good mix. Particular favourites were 12a, 21a, 6d, 14d, 16d and 20d.

Very nicely done. I've been looking forward to this since spotting it in a brief moment of signal on holiday. Well worth it: all very clever: I particularly like 8d, 16d as counterweights, but there are lots of good clues here. Tough to do I should think, given the constraint. (I'm slightly uneasy about 1d's grammar.)

I’m a bit late to this party but I’m very pleased that I turned up in the end! Excellent work sirdakka; superb, inventive adherence to the theme - well done! Any minor liberties totally disregarded. My faves were 9A, 19A, 25A, 28A, 5D, 14D, 22D and 27D.

Well done sirdakka, another inventive puzzle, which was a fun and tricky solve. Faves tended to be the easier ones this time! 9a 12a 24a 25a 8d 13d and 16d