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Either I'm getting dimmer or the Everyman is getting harder!

That's two weeks in a row now where I've struggled.

COD - As an Eastender I have to pick 26a - I can't wait to get on the dog and bone and tell {i}me chinas about it (alright Bren, you've made your point, let's not go overboard)

You're not the only one who hankers for a return to proper Everymans.

Like 26 too but, I think it's out of Everyman's pay-grade.

Weird mix of clues.
Some were incredibly easy, some seemed well above the Everyman pay grade.

As an American, the last 2 across clues (25 and 26) sailed over my head, but I spent a lot of time with Boatman's Prize and will admit defeat here without researching.

3d. I have an answer which parses and makes sense, but if I am right the clue is rather inelegant. Thoughts?

Hi Smudgekent,

Re 3d I agree. The first part is okay but the the second word is virtually written complete in the clue, and not in a clever 'hidden' way.

Hi Geeker,

26a - both terms add up to a G???? - "a monkey" is half of it, as is "20 ponies"

26a did back memories of a time in the 80's when my friend was selling a car. He and the (straight laced) guy were haggling over the price, my friend wanted around the £550 mark and the bloke was only offering £450 so, after some back and forth, I said "why don't we just call it a monkey"? To which the bemused looking guy said "what's a monkey"? There was a slight pause after which my friend replied, with an absolute straight face, "it's a kind of furry animal".

I know, I know, it looses everything in translation but I still laugh when I think about it:-)

Hi Lizz,

25a - there's a 7 letter borough in east London that, if you pronounce it 'like a cockney', gives a 4 letter (skin) "complaint"

Well. A lot of that was hard. Only got about 3 the first time around, and they were the really straightforward ones like the initial letters/hidden words. Then slowly the pennies started to drop. LOI was 11d which held me up for ages until I finally saw the anagram.Have a good Sunday everyone.

Good fun I thought with some nice touches. I agree about that one element in 3d which could have been clued differently.

The monkey/pony references reminded me of old episodes of the Sweeney for some reason, or Minder perhaps.

Like Bowergirl, I got hardly any of these in the first sweep, and was eventually forced to the online thesaurus, starting with 1D. Weirdly, then all the rest were done in about ten minutes with no more assistance needed. I've never known the NW corner to be quite so crucial! Talking of which, shouldn't 1A be 'EACH letter' rather than 'A letter'?