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Pleased to hear that roof. All the best.

I log into this blog every week but this must be the first time I've finished a prize crossword with no help at all. Everything seemed to just fall into place.
We get the Guardian daily, as did my parents, and I usually attempt the crossword, with varying degrees of success.

There is often talk on this blog of "Pauline Clues" but he has been totally outdone by 1 across, Tramp's crossword on Wednesday February 1st. Very naughty !! I blushed as I filled it in!

Yes, Tramp's effort was a bit extreme. 🤣 I got the clue fairly quickly and was thinking "no...it can't be...OMG, it is!". There were many comments on the 225 daily blog.

Trying to solve 24a, for a while I seriously wondered whether there was a word "itlit", meaning literature about "it", which might well be saucy stuff. (A bit like chicklit.) However, I realised what the right solution was when I got the first letter by solving 15d, which, funnily enough, really is literature about "it".

I got stuck halfway through yesterday so came back to it today and all fell into place once I saw 1d. But am completely stumped by 18d, my last one. I'm guessing from the comments that I maybe don't know the word... can I check crossers are E-C-M-A? Am I looking for praises? Folks have obviously got it from the wordplay but I'm just not seeing it. Thanks!

Havermonkey, everything you have is correct. A large part of the solution is anagram

Got it thanks! I was convinced it was an anagram but couldn't figure out the letters - could not see past 'tax' as the indicator. Obvious when you see it :-)

Unusually I finished a Picaroon, not always my favourite, at a single sitting on Saturday evening. Great fun, though a little bit baffled by the parsing of 6d - looks right, but not sure what the answer has to do with smack, bum, hesitation or choice.

Hi Havermonkey, your letters are correct as is your surmise - it's the plural of an old Latin word used as a praise, victory salutation, panegyric etc.

Freddycat - Think "smack dab in the middle of'.

The only two I have got stuck with are 3d and 13a. I could do with reassurance that my crossers are right:

L*K*A***T and O*E***A*