Very enjoyable, it’s been a while since I completed a puzzle on the G. I don’t mind the hard ones, although I never know when to “give up” and come here (I’m still “working” on Araucaria’s bank holiday prize puzzle, for example…).

With the exception of double-checking that REEDLING is a bird, I even finished the whole thing “out of my own head” which is even nicer. I’m sure some of you solved this as fast as you could type/write!

GOSH went in “last” which I got a chuckle from given the “shoes” in the clue.

I didn’t catch the “leg ends” explanation but I made up my own awful reason why it made sense – “legends” = “feats” = “feets” = “PLATES OF MEAT”!

Is Michael Foot a legend in his own time? (Graffitti, probably apocryphal, presumably pre-03/03/2010)

I liked it!

By straightforward I meant a set of clues not having a theme. The clues were not straightforward in the ordinary sense at all. They were inventive, well-constructed and had a distinctive style.

As visitors of this site might have noticed on previous occasions, I have a soft spot for the talents of Michael Curl [who, btw, recently put a lot of Orlandos on his reanimated website (see: Announcements) - so take your pick].
However, though perhaps true, Davy’s final comment “I think Orlando has set the standard today for a straightforward, very entertaining puzzle”, doesn’t do him fully justice.

Orlando isn’t always as straightforward or at the easier side of the spectrum as today.
In fact, I found this crossword more like one of his alter ego in the FT (Cincinnus) – indeed, an ideal Quiptic [but please do keep in mind that a lot of these clues are really clever and thoughtful, and the product of real craftsmanship].
Although, I think, it is not on to dismiss Quiptic setters in general calling them ‘trifles’.

This puzzle was a good example of how easy crosswords can still be very satisfying to solve, mainly because of the quality of the clueing.

My Clue of the Day? I think 1ac, because of the very original (and apt) second part of the clue.