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Thanks Ginge, may take you on that later. For the moment, am I on the right lines?

Hi again loge, it's difficult to comment without giving exact details but (b) from the preamble is adhered to in the endgame.

OK, thanks. Back to the drawing board.

Ah - very nice deception.

Have cracked the path and the hunter and the negotiated items.

It also removes any ambiguity over the shading.

Hats off - all done. A proper work-out this week.

Got most elements of end game but still not sure what was going on with the 2 clues that could give hunters even though I have now filled the entries with items negotiated
. Any advice please?

Understand the title too now.

Loge - won’t say too much but as I was where you were only about 15 minutes ago, I’ll say the following

I was confident of the clashes

I was confident of the negotiated items and the single letters that that three up

I thought the preamble would be proven to be accurate.

So....I had to have something else wrong.

That should read: “threw up” not “three up”!

That was helpful CD, and I'm there too now - at last! So I was right about the two items but wrong about so much else. At the risk of being a bad loser, I'll say that the business with the non-clues seems to be rather unnecessary, though justifiable I suppose in the context of Zabadak's explanation (which is how I see it too).

I think I have everything now, but I don't get the wordplay to 16d. I thought it was going to be an anagram of TREESETS ; it very nearly is, but not quite. I would never have found the entries for 44a and 44d without the unused clashing letters, largely because I would have misinterpreted 'items negotiated'. However, a very pleasant workout at a time when I do not want to get the puzzle out of way too quickly.

I must think about the title, as well.

33d, I meant