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Flame @110; Opto @108;

It seems to me that it is late enough in the week to be a bit more specific with the hints. Hope this is Ok within the 'rules'

29A - it surprised me that Shakespeare had a word meaning 'like an umpire' but there you go. The word play is 5-letter 'criticism' + 6-letter 'killer moves' + 1-letter 'base'.

Nobody really wants to be too specific with the thematic endgame by letting the cat out of the bag. But there is (as several have hinted at earlier) a substantial 'Easter Egg' in one of the clues.

Many thanks. Will go and have another try!

We just finished this one,very satisfying. I am in awe of those who do these on their own.Congrats to Sabre and thank you to all for the nudges.

There once was a grumpy old git
Who had stared at a grid for a bit
He said "Thank you Sabre,
for all your hard labour"
Can anyone help me with it?

Yep, sorry about that.

For some reason I can't find the 7th letter from the unchecked word. Any tiny nudges would be greatly appreciated.

It’s in 21d, billshutter

Thanks Dodgepot, kicking myself, all finished now.

I also couldn't spot that seventh letter for a stupidly long time. Weird.

Really enjoyed the gridfill, much more manageable than some previous Sabres, thought the clues were strong.

Thought the endgame was close to unfair, would never have solved it myself I don't think, not being familiar with the work. I don't consider 2 words hidden among about a 1000 as a great hint. Fortunately my other half is a genius at that sort of stuff and she figured it out.

Hats off to your other half, sh. I’m inclined to agree. I think very few people would have used the “hint” to find the work. It’s mainly identifiable only with hindsight. I think, for fairness, the preamble should have said the phrase is in ODQ. It doesn’t give a lot away, but at least limits the search area.

Got there at last, took me most of the week on and off. Many thanks to all for the hints here, there were about four clues I would never have got on my own. Best hint for the theme was to look in ODQ .. there were only two short words I could make from the few pairs I had, and one of them showed the key phrase in ODQ index. Wish I’d thought of looking there earlier!

Many thanks, jbird54 at # 111. I have eventually struggled over the line!