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Be warned, this isn't easy, but some some of the definitions are nothing short of genius. Those, coupled with some of the wittiest wordplay I've ever seen, and we have a real gem of a puzzle.

"What happens before weekend begins" and "bedroom item which accompanies one" are just two among many. Then there's the wonderful 7d and 1a, either of which could be a COD, as could 15a.

However, I'm going to go with the deceptively simple 19d "One hears something in the bath, topless" - brilliant!

Thanks to Picaroon for a masterclass in the art of crossword setting:-)

Yes, thanks to Picaroon for continuing his run of good form! I enjoyed practically all the clues, will mention 3, 5a, 5d, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 27. Two new/obscure (to me) words which I managed to put together from syntax/parsing; details withheld to avoid spoilers.

Hi Geeker,

There certainly was a lot to enjoy. I've just been looking back over it and I've seen even more nice little touches that I missed on the first pass.

Like you say, there are a couple of "unusual" words, but the wordplay is clear so....

I'm looking forward to hear what the other Forum users think of it:-)

Yes, a very good puzzle. Very much liked 5d!

Hi Mathi,

5d was excellent and it couldn't have been easy "to arrange" - if you get my drift:-)

Hi all,
Thoroughly enjoyed that. The Greek, the bird and the vehicle were all new to me! Particularly enjoyed the association of a couple of clues with their respective grid positions.

Hi Jono,

You're right, Picaroon certainly put us through our paces with this one.

Mmm - I must have been on Picaroon's wavelength, as I found this pretty easy; even the unfamiliar words were plainly clued. It was great fun, though. 2d made me laugh out loud!
(Prison I'm leaving for work in bars (7) )

One thing I can't parse, though - what's the "short story" in 20a?
Fail to observe Poe character in short story (10)

Hi Chris,

Unusually, in this instance "short" doesn't mean 'knock off the last letter', but actually forms part of the definition - the 5 letters around the "Poe character" mean "short story".

I also had to look up that word for short story and spent a good while thinking about shortening a longer word! The Poe character was clear though