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17a Society greets secure form of lottery (10)

Is this 'sweepstake'? Society = s, secure = take, but that leaves greets = weeps which I can't see.

Greets is Scottish for weeps, cries, sobs etc.

Thanks Malone, I hate clues that rely on knowledge of obscure meanings like that. It's ok I suppose if you're Scottish, but what about the rest of us?

My mother (from Devon) used to sing this:
http://www.rampantscotland.com/songs/blsongs_cushions.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rNZBED858Y

StrangelyBrown, greet/cry isn't that obscure - it's been used in crosswords many times.

PS I didn't enjoy this puzzle very much, I found it a bit of a grind.

I'm also finding this a grind Malone, a very slow one.
9d Married woes coming with blessing? That's hopelessly romantic! (5-3-4)
Is it Mills and Boon? If so, why is it hyphenated?

Thanks, StrangelyBrown.

It's Mills-and-Boon hyphenated as that's what's in Chambers. The definition is 'conforming to a highly unrealistic romantic ideal, as in the fiction published by Mills and Boon [italicised]'

If the clue was Publishers of romantic mush, Mills And Boon would work then!

I had the same problem with sweepstake, thanks for the parsing.

The other I have a problem with is
56a College keeping yellow spirit - a litre : far from fresh (10)
Unoriginal looks like.

I can see UNI containing (OR) then GIN + A L, but why does OR mean yellow?

Graham, the Or is yellow or gold, in heraldry. it's in Chambers.

Thanks Malone - I always see OR as Gold, so the other definition is welcome. Who'd have thought we'd have to parse a Poussin painting!