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I've got the answer but it's early so I don't want to give it away, but would really appreciate the parsing.....

21a French can add butter to both sides of (8)

I get the definition (French can) and there is a 5 letter word that is a cooking term that can mean 'add butter to' around a 3 letter word but that's as far as I get.

I see the French can, too, Brendan, and the cooking term.
Could there be something missing from the clue, perhaps?

That was my thought too, Rusty.

Brendan, I've had a wee look on AnswerBank crossword section, and over there they suspect something may be missing from the clue, too.

Thanks very much Rusty, that had me so baffled.

The 'can' could be interpreted as 'can do', or 'I Will', or an abbreviated form of the latter?

The "can" is the definition, surely?

Could be an overlapping clue - 'French can' and 'can add butter to both sides of'.

French can is the definition (can is a slang word) and there must be something missing in the parsing,

The online version has “... both sides of pain” (italics in the original). That gives the “ill”, if a bit obliquely.