This week's puzzle is by Paul and is not for the faint of heart 🥵
NB. There is a Special Instruction which, naturally, I missed. It wasn't until I'd been staring at the same set of clues for the best part of an hour that I noticed it.
I also found this extremely difficult - perhaps one of the hardest we've ever seen - certainly in recent times.
If you do get stuck there is a long anagram and a hidden in the acrosses and a hidden in the downs.
FOI was 16a followed 14d.
COD - Several contenders this week but I've gone for the wonderfully elegant 19d, "Where leg is on insect" (7)
The only query I have in regards parsing is the synonym for "familiar" in 23a, but I'm sure Paul would have checked this so I'll scour Chambers and see what I find.
Thanks to Paul for a very challenging but ultimately rewarding crossword.
We had more new posters join our friendly blog last week, so welcome to VinnyGrey and CrypticSilver ....
.... and remember, if you get stuck, don't hesitate to ask for a hint.
Stay safe:-)