Wow! Some very clever clues here. On the whole, too tricky for me though (I could only get a few) but I could appreciate the clues after revealing the answers, (although some did still confuse me). I'm curious about 2,16 and 33.
Thank you! It’s hard to gauge the difficulty but I think I’ll try to adjust it in future, you’ve definitely picked out some of the more complex constructions.
2D: Some clues in other crosswords are like this - definition.
dense = THICK, detailed (remove final letter) gives THIC. uninspired = TAME, setup (put backwards as it is a down clue) gives EMAT. The latter going inside the former (at heart) gives TH(EMAT)IC.
I concede that it is rather difficult to parse, but I was far too pleased with my surface to change it!
16A: in a tidy way - definition.
Almost = NEARLY, losing R (rook, chess notation) for T (knight, to be taken finally), gives NEA(T)LY
33A: spell - definition
A DAB (a little) RA (Sun God) going after A BRA (a supporter) gives A BRA (A DAB RA). That overcomes C (cold) to give ABRA(C)ADABRA.
Hope that’s all clear (and not too irritatingly complex!), thanks so much for playing my puzzle!