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cass,
5 misprint in fourth word, part of definition
28 company abbrev in a 4-letter acronym definition is design

Cass - In 18a, the clue's first word is a proper noun. The wordplay had me thinking "That can't be a word", but when I looked it up, it turned out it is!

Very ingenious puzzle! I thought the &lit was pretty dazzling, myself. Consider that in the usual "Misprints" type of clue, there is a misprint specifically in the definition and not in the wordplay, and that's the kind of clue we have in this puzzle.

The essence of the &lit type of clue is that the entire clue can be read as the definition, and the same entire clue can be read as the wordplay.

So if you're going to have an &lit clue that also uses the misprints device, you have to work it out so that the entire clue can be read as the definiton WITH a misprint, and the same entire clue can be read as the wordplay WITHOUT a misprint.

It's really tough to make a clue work in that way. I've constructed a few puzzles using the Misprints device, and I have tried a few times to make a promising looking clue work as an &lit, but I've never been able to pull it off satisfactorily, and in the end I've always given up on the &lit part and just written a regular two-part Misprints-type clue.

But this clue pulls off the trick of being &lit while at the same time following the Misprints device scrupulously, and on top of that it does so very elegantly and concisely. It's a beautiful clue.

Thanks, dms101. An interesting alternative perspective. I did work out how the structure had to operate, but I wasn’t as struck as you. I confess I’ve never quite understood the reverence held for the &lit in crossword circles, probably because I’ve never tried to compose one. I suspect it’s chiefly a “setter” thing. But it would be a dull world if we all agreed on everything.

Apologies, dsm101. . .

Thanks DSC. For 5d I had the letters and word, but could not get that to fit with15ac (which I thought I'd 'cracked' satisfactorily). So, back to the drawing board ....

Likewise with 28ac, I thought the answer did not really fit the definition, but it must do. So now I need to rethink 27d and 15ac (or maybe go for a walk!).

Thank Will37. I've sorted it now, and that confirms (I think) 18d, for which I cannot find the misprint. I thnk the excessive sunshine has addled my brain. I've found this crossword a bit of a slog.

18d misprint is first letter of lucky.

Enjoyed this, thanks Quinapulus.

Needed this forum’s help to understand 25d, and even then it took a while, but now see it’s a beautiful clue!

Help needed to parse three more please:

31a: is this more than a vague definition, i.e. fill in the blank? Don’t see the cryptic bit…

2d: don’t understand the definition. Think I have the wordplay and misprint, but can’t find the grid entry in Chambers, other than as part of a two-word phrase.

21d: I think first four words are wordplay, which leaves the rest for definition. Don’t see where the misprint is, although I know the letter.

Thanks!

31a - subtractive anagram

2d - misprint in first word

21d - I think it's the plural of the run on shapes on the top edge of a ....