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Roof,
I hope your back improves toot sweet (sic). As to today's puzzle, I found it reasonable and then stalled, then my wife came in and showed me the light.
Phil

Like most of you who have commented, I found it unusually easy, but not so trivial as to be uninteresting. In fact I quite enjoyed it. There is just one clue which I don't fully understand, and since as far as I remember nobody else has mentioned difficulty with it, I must be missing something really obvious. 26a - I don't understand the love. Any help?

Yes, I was indeed missing sometreally obvious. As SO OFTEN happens with something I have puzzled over for ages, as soon as I posted a question about it, it became blindingly obvious.

In case it wasn't obvious, "sometreally obvious" in my last comment should have been "something really obvious". I don't know where the hing went to.

I enjoyed this and it flowed quite well but am back to it this morning because the 5s have me stumped. I'm sure it's obvious.... I can't see past a medical answer for 5a (first word as defn) but am not seeing an answer for 5d with that. Hints welcome!

5a "Problem" is the definition, the rest describes a "sounds like"
5d A word for having gambled, and also a way of preparing vegerables, for instance

Oh I got the Austen character as soon as I posted that! Had been going with just 'A'.

Thanks Chrise for confirming, finished now :-)

Hello Micky, the “love” is replacing “one” from another river. Hope that works :-)

I don't often complete the prize puzzle but I've managed it today, with just a bit of help from this thread. The final solution I entered was 18ac, which I thought was so witty I almost laughed out loud! Thank you, Philistine, for a brilliant puzzle, full of artistry, especially the very clever 8d.