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Yep. That is actually correct. And one of the little nuances that makes crosswording the huge attraction that it is

Perhaps you could help me understand 1 dn. Never visited a spa so don't know what goes on there.

Hello fellow crossword solvers
This is my first post. Thanks for the entertaining and helpful chat.
Fop I love how you used answers for your question!

Need help with 1a and 4d please. Feeling a bit silly because nobody else had problems with those two it seems.

I got the first word to 4 d from part of the clue and It really Is the only word that fits. Need hints for second word pls. Flummoxed!

1a I have several letters for but not able to think of a viable word that fits. Does it use synonyms for old as part of the construction?

I am a English expat in the US and love it when quintessentially British words and turns of phrase come up in the Guardian crosswords. Thank heavens it is available on the internet!

Welcome Femmenoire,

For 4d, you already have the second word! Chambers dictionary says the phrase gives the impression of indistinct background conversation (theatre).

I have heard actors muttering it, but more often when they think their lines in the script are too lengthy or pretentious 🙂

For 1ac, it’s an anagram of “as mature” and it’s a word meaning “hams”, again in the theatrical sense. The anagram indicator of “high” is quite unusual I think, well I can’t remember the last time I saw it in any of the crosswords I tackle.

May I also welcome you, Femmenoire. This is a very friendly site, with lots of helpful people.

quocunque - I wrote in 1d with very little confidence - I have no idea what goes on in spas either!

Quocunque, I don’t know the exact procedure but I think it’s some form of exfoliating to reveal fresh new skin underneath.

The homophone would be (1,4) if that makes sense.

Aah thank you! For clues and for the welcome
I had 21a wrong so 4d now makes sense.
Unusual use of hams but I like how 1a comes together

Thanks Richard Sounds horrible.

For richardk - 1a may be true in the theatrical sense, but I immediately thought of radio hobbyists.

Finally finished having agonised over 4d for two days - the penny finally dropped after reading the very helpful response to femmenoire’s question. Maybe I’m being exceptionally pedantic or maybe it’s the pent-up frustration (!) but has anyone ever come across rhubarb in a fruit salad. And as a synonym for ‘etc’ it’s approximate. Try it in a sentence such as “we grow a number of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, peas, rhubarb rhubarb. “