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I'm making steady..ish progress with the clue solve but am not entirely sure of the instructions in the preamble....

Is there only 1 letter missing in each of the thematically treated clues and answers and can they overlap, ie can one of the the thematic clues with a letter missing in the clue also have a letter missing in the solution?

I ask because in 2d I can see a letter missing in the wordplay (in the first word) but there also seems to be a letter missing from the definition?

There are 18 distinct thematic clues (9 with letter missing in clue, 9 with letter omitted from grid entry).

In 2d, wonder = AWE

Thanks Buddy,

In 2d it looks like there is a W missing from "omen" so "W(omen) taken from aWe = AE + Run Out but I can't see why the answer is a "fighter" - but instead looks like something to with f L ight?

Not the best of clues IMO, but I think def is "as a fighter"; Chambers gives AERO as an adjective meaning "of or relating to aircraft" so it seems like it should be "fighter for example" or some such, as not all planes are fighters.

At any rate there are 17 thematic clues other than that one, so I just bunged in AERO and moved on!

Ok, thanks Buddy, much appreciated.

I've got the nine thematic entries to the grid and the word it spells.

I'm still puzzled over the exact nature of the thematic treated clues. For example, in clues like 2d, 14d and 28d there is a letter missing from a word in the clue - as per the preamble.

However, in clues like 16a and 9d there appears to be a letter too many in the clue.

Do these extra letter clues count or have I parsed them incorrectly?

16a, Irate "new" (anagrammed) removed from TAILORED & then anagram what's left to get answer.

9d,, Yowl (anagrammed) leaving COW + EASILY "shaking" to get the answer.

OMG I'm such a moron! They had an extra letter because because one was missing - just as the preamble says!!

Thanks again Buddy.

Ok, I've got both sets of thematic answers and the person in question.

Before I put it to bed can I get a parse for 18a It looks like an anagram of "several" minus R and entered without the first letter, and 35a I've tried adding "sting" back to the answer but with no results.