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Even Jono's explanation doesn't help me, I'm afraid. Beginning to think I must have gone completely wrong in the entire NE corner. Ahh well ...

8d: the last five letters are from a 6-letter synonym for frantic, with its head or h removed.

Thanks Mathi! I couldn't find that definition in my Chambers ... but it is 30 years old! I guess it does just about mean 'each', but it's quite a stretch. And don't get me started on the single-letter abbreviation that no one in the real world has ever used. Not one of Everyman's finest clues, all told.

Always look up Chambers, the BRB.

Thanks Jono. I do know that slang term for each in realtion to price.

I still think lecturer was a poor choice for 8 when each novice would have read perfectly well.

I agree paulnz, and Phil. Novice, learner or student would all have made more sense. Why on earth did the setter choose lecturer?!! Found this clue a bit of a dogs dinner.

Thanks to Geeker for enlightening me on 16d as, like Brendan, I thought it was the rodent without the G backwards in the first 5 letters. And I thought it must then be OTT backwards for silver tongued!

To many favourites to name, but thanks for all the music references for the excellent 5d!

Thanks also to whoever pointed out the alliterations - I"d totally missed that.

5d appeared in near identical form in Picaroon’s puzzle 28,145 last year. 6d on that occasion.
Perhaps worth noting the little trio of clues formed by 9, 16 and 24 ;-)

For me having a mixture of clue difficulty is perfect. It allows me to get the crossers I need to get the harder answers.

I enjoyed it this week, although I had the same issue with parsing 8d.

I can't perfectly parse 17a or 26a so I may be missing something

Ah penny just dropped on 17a !