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Playfairs are the most difficult of the AZED specials and I was very pleased too complete. I felt that 38 across was the most obscure of the set, otherwise very satisfying. Thanks AZED

Congratulations for completing this challenging puzzle with rather more clues than the usual 36 for a 12x12 barred grid.

Yes, 38ac was really obscure compared to the other three - I used a helpful list on Wikipedia to confirm the answer. I thought it was a bit mean to give wordplay only for the four enciphered answers, but the code phrase was then quite easily guessed rather than having to deduce it from enciphered letter pairs.

I've got all the themed answers and the rest is almost complete but the two-word code phrase is beyond me - any hints?

It's not possible to construct the Playfair square backwards using the encyphered answers, is it? You need the code phrase.

What word (plural) best describes the four themed answers (what are they all famous as)? Then think of a 2-letter abbreviation for their common nationality, and put that before the other word.

In some puzzles, notably the Listener, the only way to construct the square is with letter pairs from answers and the letters you have in the grid. No hint to the keyword can be given (this is in the Notes for Setters). Fortunately Azed spares us the pointless, mind-numbing tedium of doing this and usually gives a generous hint to the keyword, as here.

As loge says, the 'proper' (other adjectives are available) way to solve a Playfair is to use the encoded letter pairs to work out the code square and thus the key phrase. Should you wish to go down this route, the Cracking the Cryptic YouTube channel has a video which goes through the steps involved ('Cracking a Playfair Code').

Got it now, thanks both. The Listener method does sound completely tedious and beyond my powers.