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18 is uniform = sole with the “o” (zip as in nothing) further back.

I’m still puzzling over 6d as well.

STICK is "A group of bombs, or of paratroops, released at one time from an aeroplane"

Thanks for the help, guys. As for 6dn, it was a toss up between STICK and STICH. I'm sure I looked up the latter a couple of times. Why not the former?!

Grid filled, explanation derived. Can't see full wordplay in 38d. Have answer and think the extra word's in there but....?

Hi Simon,

Chambers gives "tarts" as "someone who repeatedly changes allegiance" so "fickle people". Then if you look up the extra word you'll see that one of the definitions is "exclamation mark".

Cunning is definition. Word for fickle people (used usually to describe promiscuous women) minus outer letters. The extra word also means a punctuation mark.

Thanks, guys. I had thought that may be the wordplay but the CD-rom version of Chambers doesn't have that definition of 'tart' or, at least I can't see it. Moving on.....

I have a full grid, full of real words but.........

The first instruction seems blindingly obvious as x is y and y is x. However, although I can now move four of those letters (now in a column) to create four empty cells and eight new words, I am struggling to understand or justify why they are where I have placed them.

Gitto - I think it shows that the four vertical letters cannot move any further. As to the final phrase, the four checked spread out letters spell a real word in the first two stages, but not in the final stage (before the filling in has taken place).