Thanks for solving! See my reply to Oliver below RE: 3D
Oliver Hardy 🤓7:57 · 2024-01-04T08:59:52.575Z
Challenging, but entertaining, puzzle. 3D was the final word to be solved, so all but one of the letters were already in place. My only worry is the Z; is it a generally acceptable abbreviation for "zookeeper"? It's not in any of my lists of abbreviations.
The intended parsing for 3D is A Z (Zookeeper’s first) and LIE all acting as anagram fodder (being doctored). Admittedly, that use of doctor as an anagrind is a bit tenuous as opposed to its standard position before the fodder, but I was so pleased with the surface I couldn’t bring myself to change it. Thanks for solving!