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Hi alwayspuzzled, 39a is such an expression and the 3rd word in the quote is "that" rather than "what" and if you Google " 37a quote + what you now have" ...

Thank you for that Ginge. It is much appreciated.

keepatit

Like xwordfan, I worked back and got the only possible thematic answer.

The problem is the parsing. The use of the word "by" in the clue conventially means that the first part is put before the second, so A by B means BA and not AB. Thus the clue as written gives ****MIS, not MIS****.

The clue should read "Jim's set off energetic person". Then the cluelets are in order.

jigjag

That’s not a convention I recognise. A normal reading of by would suggest beside, and thus AB and BA are both quite acceptable. So I have no problem with it. Anyway, I sense you have plenty of ink in your well, so I will leave it there.

All done without a clue about the relevance of the letter M to the theme. Could someone please put me out of my abject misery?

An abbreviation for money. Something along the lines of take the money and run.

... and obviously 37a refused to accept any in the forms of the puzzle title.

Think I finished, but goodness knows how to parse 16D!

Egill, my thoughts on 16 D...

Initiate = the first seven letters of the unreformed answer
A great number = many
The 'y' is generated by wordplay and is dropped, giving the undefined answer. The thematic adjustment changes it to the entry.

Thank you very much, Malone. I see where I went wrong!