guardian cryptic 24635

[dj_tanktop]

last 3� and if you wouldn't mind explaining why. i'm stumped.
2dn vessel sending up comedy series? not half (4) _ L _ _
10ac it's dismal, reporting roman theatres (4) _ D _ _
ides? but why?
23ac saw fist broken gatecrashing meeting (10) _A _ I _ F _ I _ G
looks like 'satisfying' but apart from 'broken fist' i can't see why.
thank you.

[sedge47]

23a. a saw is a saying

[turnerjmw]

2dn olla is a vessel. Half of Allo Allo upwards

[turnerjmw]

10ac ODEA. Plural of odeon. sounds like Oh dear

[turnerjmw]

23ac, sedge is right. anag of fist in saying. Satisfying = meeting

[dj_tanktop]

thanks you all so much for your help. i never would have got those answers. .

[amalgam]

2dn olla is the answer, but why does the clue say not half, when allo is exactly half of allo allo? i am really puzzled about that.

10a odea is certainly the answer, but I would have thought the clue should say Greek theatres, not Roman, as it is a Greek plural., strictly speaking.

[dj_tanktop]

it's an enigma.

[turnerjmw]

As far as odea is concerned, I think it can be the plural of the greek odeon and the latin odeum, or concert hall, which was derived from it. So maybe I should have said plural of odeum in my earlier post. It may be a bit obscure, but it's not technically wrong.

As for "not half", surely leaving half of "allo allo" out is the same as just having half of "allo allo". And using the phrase "not half", meaning "I should say so" makes the surface reading of the clue much better, and more natural, in my view. I'm sure that's why Enigmatist did it