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17 - definition is first four words. It's botanical - and I confess I didn't know it! 13d definition also in first four words.

Thanks. That finishes it ... although I have a lot of parsing queries ...

I thought I was doing well here but it's all gone "a18ac". For 11ac I have one of Lear's daughters - wrong and the NE corner is a mess. A hint for 10 or 8 might help. The rest is complete and as usual others' queries don't match mine.

Interpreter is the defn part for 10A teenieleek...bloke (4 letters) is where the extra comes from

Thanks Ixion, got it.

That was great fun! Thank you, Soup, for the wonderful entertainment.

Have finally twigged what's going on here after far too long - but am still struggling with parsing and answer for18ac - the middle letter in fact. I can see one that fits with 7 but not sure at all. Can anyone provide discreet enlightenment?
Also with 2d, I assume the definition occurs later rather than earlier in the clue?
Turned out to be fun in the end - and cleverly done. Took me ages to decipher the message.

yes, 18 was my last (the centre letter of the grid). The initial answer is a 7 (in its original form). The word for man is an abbreviation. Definition in 2 is last word.

Thanks, prospero. Hadn't checked all definitions. Always a good idea!

I decided to look at the Genius for once and am not getting anywhere. I can understand the extra letter thing, but I get the impression that the crossers do not necessarily add help to the clues. Is that right? And are the actual entries real words?