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Thanks buzzybee. I took the last word to indicate the construction, but I see now that it works either way.

I'm glad I didn't see the puzzle on April 19. It is a very enjoyable discovery with a much-loved theme and interesting surfaces. Like swarbrules @3, the SE corner is taking me longer but I'm working on it.
A bit confused about the approximate homophone at 5d, although the definition at 19a made it clear I had the correct word.
Also with the synonym of conductor used in the wordplay for 22a, which is apparently more North American.
17a made me smile (but since I don't have all the crossers yet, I may have the wrong word. I just hope I don't :)

Hi manu
5d isn't an approximate homophone; it's a letter substitution

For 5d, start with a word for solvable then apply a single letter replacement to get a word for match. Any doubt as to which way round the clue works is eliminated by 19a.

Thank you. I read the clue too fast, forgetting that every letter counts.

Re 8d, chrise, I didn't find the use of this particular letter disturbing, being so used to reducing the word to its initial letter.
As for 1d, I agree. Other 2-word expressions seem more common.

Hi manu
But in 8d, the fodder should have two more letters in it, if treated fairly. It's only implied that they "disappear".

True. In the case of 2downs, it is more unfair than in other types of wordplay.

Like chrise I was surprised how many clues I'd forgotten the answers to given i solved it only a month ago. But I did remember how much I'd enjoyed this.

So thanks again to Kite and I'm sticking with 17d as my COD as it is a tremendously well constructed clue.

Great crossword but I can't parse 17a. No doubt about the answer, but I don't see how the last 4 letters correspond to anything in the clue. What am I not seeing?

Hi Castafore,

17a - the first 4 letters are "tea" (I know it's usually 3 letters but Chambers gives both spellings) and the final 3 are what you add to the end of an orange or lemon drink.