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I have at least seven words entered into the grid that aren't in the dictionary or encyclopaedia. But can anybody give a hint about 29/12 and 13D (which relates to 12A)? And yes, I know it's early days!

In 29/12ac, the "fix" is a 3 letter word, as in "to fix an election". It's reversed ("switches"). You can probably guess what the "three right angles" are. It's one of those that undergoes a s + 14ac, but the 2 words to go in the grid are real words.

Thanks, peterm. I thought I'd thank you now, rather than when I've worked it out.

hi to all from dizoz,
just about done. having parsing problem for 13D ( got L-U-A ) and 14D - a 14A victim, I think,( got E-E-E ).hint would be handy.:-). ta

hi all again from dizoz.
got 13D ok.
I was wrong about 14D being one of the eight.
hint still welcome :-)

hi all, forget my last posting - got everything done.

Aaargh! I realised how to parse my inadvertent answer. What can I say? I'm a child of the 60's, not the 80's.

I'm still confused about why we're ending up with words which aren't in the dictionary. (Are we? And if so, how the heck are we supposed to know what to enter?) e.g. 1D seems to be one of the eight but it's a real word (well, my answer is) but I can't fully parse it:

After fourth of burgers - yep
walkin' - yep
around McDonald's - nope, although 'i' seems to become 'er'
to find fruit - yep

Also, some of the clues don't seem to fit 14A if we're talking individual letters, but they don't seem quite standard crossword 'grammar' either. e.g. 9A is a 'sounds like' but he doesn't say so. And 24D (if I've got it right) is back to front as it's not the bird that drops something.

Also... the special instructions don't read well - they're clunky. Is 'to be entered in the grid' simply tautologous (what else do you do with crossword solutions?)? Does it imply that you find a solution from the clue and then randomly 14A something in it? Or does the clue tell you the 14A bit as well?

I was so looking forward to this one, but having fought my way through website bugs, non-appearing crosswords and misprints before I even started, I feel antagonised by it and that causes my solving brain to seize up. I like the whole experience of doing a crossword: it should be a treat, and the first few geniuses that I did were just that. But the last two haven't been. It's a good thing the Grauniad don't charge for this.

No reply from the Grauniad's help team or the crossword editor, and I still can't see the interactive crossword. From the print version, however, I can see they didn't fix the clues which are linked, e.g. 10A and 18A. That's not the normal way of specifying them.

livs - I don't think you "randomly 14A" anything. In the Special Instructions, I think the word "small" is significant. "Small 14 across" gives you "S + 14 across", which is exactly what you must do to the themed definitions before entering in the grid. I find it incredibly clever and an ingenious way to baffle on-line crossword solving devices, which I guess is the intention.

livs

1D isn't a dictionary entry, but(like the other 7)will make a real word if s(mall)-14A is applied.
9A is a normal clue, not a homophone.

Agree entirely with Peterm on the Special instructions, though Paul has been crafty to imply that the operation is a 14A or a 2D. All of the operations are s-14A's, two of in one clue. 2D is an(entirely justified)red herring.