Cryptic hot dogs

Empty vessel and spirits with it (5, 4)

Horizontales

Verticales

2D
Appliance he had rejected initially (6)
3D
Claims with no authority (3-2)
4D
Autograph from a celebrity like Leo, perhaps? (4, 4)
5D
Image of a criminal (4)
7D
Juliet rides a vehicle with Andrew, primarily for a flower (9)
8D
Dog dogs docks (8)
11D
Popular place to chop ends off herbs (4)
14D
Father's money transfer service, yes? No. (5)
16D
Pose as someone from the Middle East? (9)
18D
Thoughtful lecture about Vietnam and Brunei finally being included in international body (8)
19D
Inspire kind legacy, content to find love again (8)
22D
Heard spouse greeting, leading to connection? (2-2)
23D
Hates the thought of tangled hair (6)
26D
Contents of prediction are bull (5)
27D
Fancy bird loses a kilo (4)

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Aaron Riccio 23:23 · 2024-06-28T12:32:32.893Z

I certainly do like a bunch of these clues: 6A, 9A, 13A, 15A, 21A, 8D. Some thoughts on other clues:

1A: I love the use of [spirits] here, but I think there might be overlap between the way you're using it in the cryptic and definitional sense.
2D: You've got [he] in the surface it's crossing HE+RO+IS+M, which is an unideal situation.
14D: I like the cheekiness of [yes? No] as a deletion indicator, but I think it's probably grammatically wrong. (I'd be more inclined to accept [No? Yes].
18D: I think I'm missing the parse on this? R(UM(I+N))ANT? Shouldn't it be UN for an international body?
26D: I think this is getting at [bull] as in PAPAL bull, and I see it's in the dictionary alone, but it feels slightly unfair? Might just be me.
25A: Tough parse! I really like what [placed in X frame] is doing! That said, [Painting] alone as a definition seems a bit off.
28A: Funny! I wish the surface were a little cleaner; [truck and storage] seems arbitrary. [Hid between], like [placed in X frame] is another nice indicator for the surface.
30A: I think this is S(T)EEP for [Bluff], but is SEEP = [well]?

Thanks for the full-sized challenge!

ConManAU constructor · 2024-06-29T08:34:55.655Z
Oof, I think you're right about 18D, not sure how I missed that! Thanks for all the feedback, there's always room for improvement but I'm glad you enjoyed it so much :D On 30A, you're correct on both counts, and those are valid definitions.