Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

7d parses 2,4 (what the copper might say) and 1, the last letter from a word in the clue

thanks jono. i had a great start with 1a a "write in", but i misspelled it!

No problem Chris, as for 20a, I skipped over it assuming it was an anagram but didn’t check it in detail. Now like you I don’t see it…

I suppose it could be YIN as a force, but that would be a very naughty indirect anagram.

Ah yes that’s it. Yin is in the answer so not indirect

Yes. When I crossed out the letters, I had N I Y left - I didn't notice the inclusion near the end!

Top half went in fairly quickly, while bottom half remained empty.
COD for me 14d. The word check on this forum unusually gives it in block caps!
Learning Latin helped with 25a and (indirectly) 13a..
Non English solvers may struggle with 15a, 16d and 27a.

bigjack @17
i took the reference in 15a to be shakespearean rather than contemporary

Any hints for 23a? I have M_S_/__/S___E in

It's not in English. It's a compound anagram, I think (I haven't checked it)