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I am completely in agreement, buzzb. It’s a terrific puzzle, subtle, original and challenging. Would that we had more like this!

Saoralba, the fourth letter can’t be an O, (not in Chambers) and the potential inclusion in two groups excludes one of the others, as murky correctly notes. Drop a metonymic word for author from the start of a seven-letter word for a poem and you have the first four letters of the fourth clue in Group 1

Hi

I’m a bit confused.

Are all the letters of all the entries the right way up or do some rotate etc?

Thanks in advance

Still a long way to go!
I have HEATED for the Hold back clue but don’t understand it.
Thanks for any help.

Same here unclued. I also have choice for the first in 2, where I can see the extra letter, but can’t see where the ce comes from. I have filled the grid, albeit erroneously, but it doesn’t help with 4, 5 and 6 of group 2. Any help with those would be appreciated.
However, I think I’ve gone as far as I am able to with this puzzle, so I’ll have to call it a day. Very frustrating, but I’ve a mountain of ironing to do, plus all the other chores we ladies have to do.
I haven’t liked this puzzle at all. Too many obscure definitions and even more obscure wordplays, making Bradford’s redundant.

Hi unclued. Took me a while to parse heated but I got there in the end. Hold back is hesitate. Remove the French for if along with the extra T. Add your D from Dutch.

I too would welcome an explanation of the ce in choice

Unclued, 8-letter word for 'hold back' or what we do when we say 'um, er' + D(utch), minus 2-letter French word for 'if'. That should lead to your answer as well as the extra letter.

Sorry Merenz, you beat me to it!

I agree with buzzb and quizling. A tricky puzzle which was much more of a challenge than those of recent weeks. A fair bit of cold solving required to get going but once the theme emerged a pleasant couple of hours completing the grid. I really enjoyed this one.

No worries Sammina. Your hint was much more subtle than mine. But I’m afraid the capacity for subtlety has left me after the monumental workout I’ve had after completing this crossword! And I’m still not entirely convinced I’ve entirely understood the preamble but it’ll have to do.

Re “choice”, “of supporting singers” is CHO(R)IC + E = “on the internet”