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Thanks Richard

I had got it right, I just didn't realise there were going to be so many first letters.

1a is an anagram of ("cut-offs" + a synonym (2) for "very").

Many thanks Vinny Grey

Got it, though I'm not sure where the first two letters come from, but I expect I'll manage to sort it out.

Delighted to have finished for once without recourse to the forum hints. However, for some reason I simply can’t parse 1d - not an issue anyone else has raised so I must be missing something blindingly obvious! Can someone help please? Don’t often contribute to the forum but enjoy reading through the comments each week for the entertainment value alone. Keep up the good work Brendan, geeker et al …….

Hi Doglover
1d is a two letter abbreviation for special followed by a three bird in reverse

Hi everyone,
All done, but any help with the parsing of 2, 8, 23, 25 would be very welcome :)

Hi baheera
2 word for "lies" (noun) around anagram "our"
8 a star, followed by a rather loose word for "consumed with passion"
23 R instead of N in a word for a meal; def. "list" as a position
25 E R IS inside a type of fish

Hi Bagheera33,

2d - 4 letter "lies" as in tells untruths around an anagram/"ground" of "our" - definition is first 5 words.

23d - Is a "meal" you might have about 1pm with the "centre" letter replaced by "right" - definition is "list" as in 'lean over'

thanks brendan and chris!! :)

Thanks Jono - so simple in reality. I had become fixated on the “turned up” phrase in the clue and how that might be reflected in the solution, so just couldn’t see the bird!