Some really neat ideas and surfaces in this one, but I think some of the cryptic grammar is a little loose.
1A: Amazing surface and definition; I think [taking characters of Paramount] is just slightly off, but I'd 100% go for stuff like this.
4A: Another great deception in [eastbound], but the surface sounds strange.
6A: Aces.
8A: I'm not sure about having [graze] be used in both the definition and cryptic parts. Cute surface, though!
10A: Hip, and I especially like that it's crashing together an old form of address in "Dear" with the very modern digital check.
11A: Really good! Might be my favorite.
1D: Very good.
2D: Not everybody follows this convention, but I do think that a hidden, even in an &lit, needs to be fully contained, and I don't buy [A section of] as an indicator for the last part of [travel]. That said, because you have e.g. in there, [The last stretch of travel, e.g.] might work.
3D: This might be legit, but I don't know [Succeeded] as an indicator for S. Is that used for tracing a royal family?
5D: It's OK. I'm US-based, so I'm just assuming [Royal Marines] can be commonly abbreviated to RM.
7D: My hesitation with 5D is compounded by this one, because you just had an abbreviation for Royal and now you have it for [Royal Society]. This surface also makes less sense to me because I've not heard of [Royal Society].
9D: Cute and fully contained.
Very nice! I agree with Aaron that 10A and 11A are really clever.
I'm not sure I quite get how 4A works. Reading the entire clue, it's not clear to me how it might be an &lit for LEAP, and taking "eastbound" to be the definition seems to break the cryptic. English is my second language—is this a culture specific thing by any chance? I'd appreciate if you or anyone else could walk me through it!
I think the def is "bound" and the east part is being used for "E"
El Gordo 42 🤓21:15 · 2024-08-01T20:03:34.016Z
4A and 8A clues would not fly with The London Times editors, but I liked them!
Also, nice to see plus sign and check mark used as definitions, creative and a bit daring.