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10 - you substitute the second and third letter and get a word for move easily around letter for old, then letter for square, all backwards. It's tricky and far from elegant - and in the end unnecessary anyway.

Hello, this is my first time of asking about a Genius crossword, but thanks to everyone who’s nudged me to a correct answer in the past!
I’m stuck on 26ac. I think the answer is to one country’s equivalent of Royal Mail, but can’t relate that to the wordplay nor the theme..
Thank you.

the wordplay gives you a word for friends. You need to change the middle and you get a word meaning foreign characters

This my first post too, Henkeeper. My reading of 26ac is a synonym for 'friends' with the two middle letters substituted to give the plural of a foreign language letter. I may be completely up the creek but, if not, I myself am stuck only on 8ac and haven't got an inkling.

Looks like my post was overtaken by Prospero's whilst I was trying to register on the Forum, but at least I seem to have been on the right track. Just left with 8ac and struggling.

dcem - 8: insert letter for royal into a (culinary) sort of course, add a word for consumed, change last two letters and you get an (Italian) sauce

Many thanks, Prospero. I had forgotten to correct 1d where I had originally and wrongly entered an African country. Sorted, as they say.

I am with Prospero on this. You can get a substantial gridfill by treating it as a “concise” (a creature I normally shun like the frumious Bandersnatch) and be left with enough crossers to resolve the rest in fairly short order. I think it needed another leg in the instructions to prevent the devious (or, like me, simple-minded) avoidIng periodic effort.

so, fess up, Jack, have you snicker-snacked your way through the periodic pains?

Despite the rain, it’s a pretty frabjous day here, Dad.....😉