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Wow! What a struggle, the most difficult Everyman for a very, very long time - at least for me.

That said, I found this to be most enjoyable with lots of clever, witty and ingenious cluing.

FOI was 1a followed by 5a.

I wasn't familiar with 12a but a quick search on Google alerted me to the type of "game" Everyman was talking about 😉

If you do get stuck, there are a couple of hiddens in the acrosses and a long anagram in the downs.

I can't completely parse 4d, specifically the "position of baby in womb" part but I'm sure someone will be able to explain it to me.

Thanks to Everyman for a challenging but very rewarding puzzle.

COD - Lots of contenders this week with deliciously devious and misleading 19a with Victoria and David 😂 and the excellent 3d, but I have to give it to 10a which, in addition to getting the gastric juices flowing, has a super smooth surface - and a bit of French thrown in for good measure:-)

As always, please feel free to leave a comment - did you find it as difficult as me, or did you sail through it? And remember, if you get stuck, don't hesitate to ask for a hint - there are always people on here willing to help.

Stay safe:-)

4d - I should have checked in Chambers before saying I couldn't parse it as it's there as another definition, "position of baby in womb" - will I never learn? 🤬

I agree it's harder than usual. I'm nearly there but stuck on the SE corner. Any hints for 17d or 25a? also not sure about 21d

Hi Brendan,
Thanks to Everyman. This started off quickly, but the last several clues were very difficult and I feared not finishing. Had to set the puzzle aside for a while, penny dropped on resumption.
FOI 1a.
LOI 17, which totally stumped me for seemingly ages.
COD 17 since I'm a bit of a nerd... Six or seven other contenders, will mention the short 18 as one for which the answer was obvious but parsing surprisingly tricky. One of the dd clues required Google to confirm the second meaning. Same issue as Brendan with 4.
Don't see a theme (but I rarely do) or rhyming pair. There is a customary "first letters" clue.

Hi timb , and others.
17a was a woman in the early days of computing.
25a - think what tears are and add that after gutting Romeo.
21d is a plural and homophone.

Hi Tim, hi Geeker,

It looks like we all had trouble with the same group of clues.

17d - 4 letter "dearest" + 4 letter "material" - definition is "programmer".

25a - 2 letter "Romeo gutted" + 6 letter "teardrops perhaps" - definition is "for his (Romeo's) love"

21d - Is a homophone - definition is "singers".

Hi Brendan,
I should add all the usual suspects are there and the two long across answers are linked.
I wondered about the bottom two across as well with their sibilants. A new flower for me in 16d too.

Hi Mystogre,

I had the same issue with the flowers in 16d but Chambers gives it so no complaints.

The only one I still have a teeny weeny problem with is 24a, where there is no substitution indicator - but no doubt I'm missing something obvious!

Brendan,
24 parses fine. Substitution indicator is first three words of clue, no?

Hi Geeker,

24a - I see what you're saying and the first 2 words "not very" are an instruction to remove a letter, but then it just says "quiet" with no instruction as what to do with it? Do you add it, if so - where? or is it a replacement?

No doubt I'll see the obvious soon but for the time being it just doesn't quite hang right 🤔