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answers to the acrosses need to be modified in pairs...1st pair lose a letter (the same one).... 2nd pair gain a letter and so it goes on.....the letters spell out a phrase...

I thought that this was a tremendous puzzle and was impressed by its elegance. I think that the Inquisitor is more than holding its own against the The Listener these days.

Plus, the modifications to the 26 extra words in the across clues follow a pattern: -a, +b, -c etc, so yes, a well-constructed and elegant puzzle!

So the 3 word theme rhymes with ... trouble for wits ... ?

Yes, Gerba.

I agree it's an elegantly constructed puzzle. It's the sort of thing that makes me wonder how the setter identified the words requiring treatment, i.e. two similar words in each case, some of them perhaps the only pair possible (as with H and J). Not the sort of grid that can be put together by a computer program.

But how does the title relate to the theme?

Hi ionacarr, might it relate to the setter Ifor and applying the 3- word phrase ?

Yes it might! I would never have worked that out. I wonder if I was the only one too dim to see it. Often the title of a puzzle is very clever but in a way that is not obvious and not necessary to solve in order to complete the challenge. A shame then that people like me don't get all the intended gratification.