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17ac Martyred bishop stripped having been taken from service -D-E

10dn Set he had cut by playwright
H-O-E-E- not certain about the O

(r)IDLE(y)

Thank you

hardened ?

H Arden e'd

thank you so much Jazzgirl. I can relax now

Jazzgirl to the rescue again! For 10d I'd been wrestling to produce some ancient Greek poet ... Hathedes, maybe? Harden (for set) never crossed my mind. Ah, well .... But I still can't see why 3d is "square off? (if it is), and 55a still eludes me (society is taken in by respectable old magician on stage).

55a Prospero

Hi duckb, I also wondered about square off. I'm sure that's the answer (nothing else fits) but cannot fully understand why. I've heard of square up to (raise dukes) but not square off.

square off is a boxing term, much the same as square up (before a fight)