I really enjoyed this puzzle . Thanks to setter and 2 Kiwis.

Hi Bob. It’s unlikely that a clue will be unfair or ‘unreal’ If you really want to know just how thoroughly crossword editors pick apart clues before okaying them have a look at our amateurs commenting in Rookie Corner. If you cannot understand how a clue works, hang fire and ask. Somebody will always explain and usually very quickly as did the ever helpful Kath above. I am on holiday in Scotland at the moment but will gan yam on Sunday.

The term Prima Donna for a chief female singer/diva (usually a soprano) in an opera – e.g. the very talented and charming Dame Kiri Te Kanawa -originated in the late 18th century but unfortunately has now been misconstrued to also indicate a temperamental, conceited person. 2Kiwis, in no way did your hint give the impression of wanting to point to the latter meaning. The announcement today that Dame Kiri will never again perform in public is indeed very sad news. 😢🌹

Bob Howat – What has a word (unheard of by me but no doubt regional to you) Gan got to do with this crossword, and what is unreal. Do you not like the clue or the hint or the comments by other bloggers? The 2Ks, as Kath has eloquently pointed out, have underlined the answer you need to look for. Gangplank is obvious as access to ship even before you start to parse it. Keep quiet = gag (not gan). You have to insert N (abbreviation for new). Plot = Plan and K (for King) comes at the end. Every constituent of the answer is there. This is, after all, a cryptic crossword. Most of us are full of admiration for the setters and our happy band of volunteers from around the world who provide very clear hints to help beginners.

I’m pretty sure it is one of his – just slightly quirky for a change, which I like.
Cue ‘alternative setter turning up to make a fool of me…’

I’m quite real too. I know there is a regional meaning of gan (Tyneside?), but it doesn’t feature in the parsing of the clue.

Good news, Dave. You’ll be right as rain in no time…

I’m quite real – the Kiwis explanation is absolutely spot on – I can’t help where you come from or what ‘gan’ means to you.
Just to reiterate – the definition, as underlined by the Kiwis, is ‘access to ship’. Begin with a three letter verb that means to keep quiet, perhaps with a piece of material – that contains (about) the one letter abbreviation for N(ew) – follow that with another word for a plot or scheme and finish off with another one letter abbreviation for K(ing).
So what’s wrong with that?

You’re right. Dame Kiri would never have left our region like Elton did. Tantrums and Tiaras. Worth a look.

Jean-Luc. Dame Kiri certainly fits the dictionary definition of “A leading female singer in an opera company”. When we put in the photo of one of NZ’s most loved heroines we did not give a thought about the term prima donna also being used in a disparaging way. We definitely did not mean to imply that.

We reckon your explanation is spot on Kath. Well done to work that out,

Excellent news Dave.

Thanks Malcolm. We’ve now added that to the text..

Great stuff BD, glad the op went welll

Fantastic !

So cross with myself for not rumbling the Quickie pun in spite of thinking out loud numerous times – I like it.

One of the – many – reasons I know that I will never be a speed solver is that I can find myself held up by things that wouldn’t normally pose any problem. Today I pondered too long on 19d, while the intersecting answer of 25a held out too, even though the art was obvious. Had to force myself to let go of any thoughts of an op!

My favourite is 1d, for surface reasons.

Thanks to my favourite Jay and my favourite 2Kiwis.

Oh yes 101 today – felicitations and thanks to a uniquely talented storyteller. RIP. 🌟🌈🌹

Yay – that’s great to hear.

Ironically, the op should have made you better at looking back …

Update – the eyepatch is now off and the world is a much brighter place than it was this morning!

Still not happy, but thanks for explaining.

Wishing you a speedy recovery BD.

I don’t know for sure but I think that when a clue is different in the paper the editor has changed it in time for the online version but not before the papers are printed. Today’s clue for 6a in the paper could have been spelt in one of two ways as it is an alternative in the BRB – I only know that as I looked it up because it’s one of the ones I have trouble with – so I should think that’s why it was changed. All this is complete guesswork!

Perhaps if the setter had known the puzzle would be published today he would have given us Dahl (it being Roald’s anniversary). Would have needed a different clue/answer for 7d of course.

I am sure you will be fine. I have never looked back although the change when the second eye is done is not as dramatic as the first!

Good news, hope it is successful.

Accessing the computer is a bit of a struggle, so I’ll be offline for a few days.

His eyes lit upon ……….

The number of anagrams and the fact that I also thought it was trickier than a normal Wednesday made me question whether it was actually by Jay.
I liked it a lot, especially 11a, 14a and 24a. Many thanks to the setter and to 2Kiwis for the review.

As Colin and Carol have said, it was surprising to see Jay utilise quite so many full or partial anagrams, there are very few weeks when his count matches that of Rufus.

My two favourite clues were the excellent 1a and 11a.

Many thanks to Mr Mutch and to the 2Ks.

His head nodded, and little by little his chin descended and touched the enemy, who seized it. There was a sharp yelp, a flirt of the poodles head, and the beetle fell a couple of yards away and lit upon its back once more.

Lovely puzzle today with a solid start and the perfect amount of headscratching to finish. Several nice clues but for some reason I particularly enjoyed 8d.

***/****

An abbreviated form of vacation especially used at university (so says the BRB).

The BRB entry I referenced includes ‘to alight; to settle‘ from an Old English word ‘lihtan‘ – there is no indication in the BRB, but I think it might be (slightly) archaic.

Agree, also the lit = settled

Greetings to Winnlpeg.

I am still being dense . I cannot see how lit can relate to either settled or landed. If you could release me from my burden I would be most grateful.

Thanks in anticipation

That is what I meant. I could not find any deinition of lit being settled or landed.

Both seem valid, I can’t see why they should differ.

I used the word in 21a in a job interview when I were a young lad. Got asked if I could spell it. I could, she couldn’t. Still got the job though.

**/** for me, COTD 9d.

Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

Nice puzzle with a couple of cracking anagrams – very enjoyable!

‘Lit’ for landed or settled – umm!

Straight out of the BRB, definition 3 of light.

I tried to make 14a an anagram, using ‘go over’ as the indicator.

Favourite 11a.

Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

Maybe I am missing something obvious.

Otherwise very enjoyable.

Thanks to all concerned.