Featured crossword No 12

Thanks Boznut for a top quality feature! Good difficulty level with some clever devices and a very satisfying range of rewards. My own favourites were 8a, 11a, 13a, 20a, 4d, 14d, 16d, 18d, 21d. MyC can be proud!

Well done Boznut. I have left a comment over on 225. Nice puzzle with the odd head scratcher but nothing too scary! Thanks. PM

Very entertaining! Top-notch surfaces with quite a few laughs. My favourites; 8a (my first one in),22a, 11a, 20a,14d Agree with Sisyphus about 'old paper' which threw me for a while. Thanks Boznut

Phew! That was a real mental workout, and I was pleased to make it to the end. The grid lent itself to solving in quarters and, after a quick start in the NW, I found myself needing to think hard to get going elsewhere - everything fairly clued, of course, but often with a hefty dose of misdirection. Lots of fun. Quite a few cheeky surfaces in this (I can imagine you and Fez had some fun during the editing process) and my favourite clues are: 8a, 11a, 26a, 1d, 14d, 21d.

Thanks Boznut. I've been enjoying your work for a while and no different here. I'll comment at Fifteensquared right after my drive home. Quickly for now, some favs include: 7a, 8a (it's a miracle I solved that but nicely clued), 25a, 26a, 6d, 18d (neat), 21d (took me a while), 24 (very nice). Thanks again - cool stuff.

Thanks Boznut for an excellent featured crossword. I left my list of favourites on 15-squared. Nice work.

Hi Boznut, really enjoyed that. I'm not the world's best solver and that grid was definitely on the harder to 'give up' end of the spectrum for me. But I kept at it because it was elegantly clued and the surfaces were great! Favourite was 20a. Also loved 21d (sold me the dummy for a while), 25a for the elegant surface and 5d for a great definition.

Very nice boznut, thanks - a fitting puzzle for the featured slot. You can add me to the list of solvers who found this difficult. The grid design, with so many unchecked first letters, is bound to be a factor. Favourites: 11a, 22a, 26a, 5d, 9d, 14d and 19d.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to solve/like/comment, and a big thank you to my tester (you know who you are) who has, over the past year, taken me from lack of possessives, full stops(!) and poor grammar (still dubious) to having a featured puzzle. I've learnt a lot and continue to do so. Thanks also to Fez for input/editing of this one.