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...you'll already have two known items directly below the framing item - the missing one follows immediately.

Gosh. This is really clever. Struggling with the last 5% so came for help. The hint for 8 down leading to the theme suddenly becoming obvious certainly helped fill the gaps and understand the S based instruction. Thanks as ever.

Full grid but unhappy with 40 down. I have an entry meaning "women's area", with a clash at the second letter, but can't justify the definition.

bobbycollins - definition is in the latest Chambers, but not on the cdrom. Think also of the terrorist group in Nigeria - Boka (?) and what their name means.

40d is forbidden under Islamic law.

I think you may have an e where the second a should be.

Cheers for that. My own daft fault since I tend to rely on my old Chambers CD-ROM. Just checked my hard copy 12th edition which does indeed give the definition!!

I had two As otherwise 55 across wouldn't work.

For 40d: I don't think that BANNED is a valid definition. The word means FORBIDDEN in the sense of something so sacred that commoners are FORBIDDEN to touch or enter - analogous to the Forbidden City in Beijing.

29a is flawed in that the wordplay needs an 'in' to be valid.

Sorry, buzzb, but you are wrong. The answer is the opposite of "halal" - the one meaning "permitted", the other "banned". Your objection would be more suited if you had made a slight mistake in your answer, resulting in a more familiar word, but making 55a incorrect

Shrouded in mystery: 6d and 52a.... Any help?

OK, I appreciate being corrected.

But I'm right about 29a!