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Hi,
Can the usual crew (or anyone actually!) help with 13a “Embarrassed with Thai starter, not hot but quite exorbitant (8)” ? I assume that Thai without ‘h’ but other than that...?

Hi Essay, it's STEEPISH

Embarrassed = SHEEPISH but with T(hai) not H(ot)

Thanks Brendan. Ha ha! Nice one. Btw is there a reason for why 20a is what it is? “Everyone knows that duck and swans on east end of island disappeared(4,6)” I assume Crete without the e, but is the rest Cockney rhyming slang? Or missing d & s’s from a word I’m not seeing in the first letters?
Thx!

O (duck) + pens (swans) + E (East) + ... Cret(e) as you say.

I think it's....

Duck = O

Swans = PENS + E(ast)

Island (with end disappeared) - CRET(e)

GInge, at least you know you're not the slowest typist on here :-)

I'm just being flippant here... is the setter being paid by the word for these rather lengthy clues?

I know, whatever happened to "less is more"? :-)

Brendan, the terser the better suits me!

Brendan, although I can admire inventive long clues, I feel at times that this is counterproductive. The solver can sometimes switch off, mentally, and even lose the will to live. On the whole, snappier clues - and preferably snappy, witty clues - would be my preferred option.

Choose whichever answer appeals to you, Brendan.

Hi Malone, to be honest, I'm less concerned about the length of a clue than I am that it should have a smooth surface reading and that every word (within reason) should be key to the answer.

For example, regarding the smooth surface reading, a clue in Saturday's Times read..

28a Pervert at hotel in course towards conflict (7)

The make up of the answer is fine:- WARP - AT - H, but "in course towards conflict" just sounds wrong. Naturally it's only my opinion, but wouldn't "on course towards conflict" have sounded better?

That said, I know from my own disastrous attempt in a recent CLUELESS how difficult it is to write clues so I'm loath to criticize - but that doesn't stop me appreciating a beautifully crafted clue when I see one, long or short :-)