Toughie No 255 by Osmosis
At full stretch
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
This was a bit of a monster, not helped by the E/E* grid and a preponderance of very common cross-checking letters; 8a was a case in point, a ten minute slog with only -A-E- available. The clues were a mix of some truly stunning bits of inventiveness and the occasional grumble, typified by the past participle “welcomed” in 9d.
*E/E means even/even – in which the answers appear in the even-numbered rows and columns.
Please add your comments and questions; and don’t forget the curly brackets contain the answers – left-click and drag the cursor over them if you get really desperate.
Clues in blue are the ones I enjoyed most of all.