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Agreed, Smithsax. This wasn't just a case of looking at Wiki, and the comprehensive list I found missed out a crucial letter from the final entry! I still enjoyed the cleverness of the clue arrangement so much that this didn't spoil the fun.

Nobody else has mentioned the lingering doubt I still have. I think the first instruction from the unclued entries has to be taken absolutely literally; so the first word applies directly to the actual words which follow. To me that's like saying to someone "Please say something" and and they reply "something." This kind of instruction usually requires us to find something else in the grid, but I guess it's not the case here?

Loge, it’s late and I may have misunderstood, but I don’t see the problem. You have an instruction, sure. But the preamble tells you to change a letter before you put it into action. So you are actually performing a different action from that in the original instruction. I fear you are looking for something that’s not there

As I understand the preamble, Quisling, you have to perform the original instruction before changing the letter and carrying out the altered instruction. But you are almost certainly right that I'm overthinking this!

On second thoughts, I didn't pay enough attention to "and then carry it out". I should read preambles more carefully.

Loge, it’s easily done. And I agree that it’s a bit odd to generate an instruction and then change it before effecting it. It would have been elegant if there was also further example of the first kind somewhere. But if there is, I can’t see it, and the preamble doesn’t actually require it

I had the same problem as smithsax and loge in confirming the second modified entry. However, I wouldn't say it was unfair since the letter couldn't go anywhere else without resulting in a non-word.

This must be one of the few occasions when Wikipedia didn't provide all the necessary information.

I'm still trying to cold-solve enough to get going. I have about half.
So 27a, (see posts 25 and 27) I have a word for poet's agony, (specifically Tennyson in Chambers). Second letter is C. But cannot see the 'entertainment'.
Apart from that one, some that I have tried for ages are 28a, 9d, 23d. A steer on those would be great. For starters!

Lumen ....'entertainment' = CHE[E](r) 'mostly' - E is extra.

28a 1 letter abbrevs for 1st 2 words (then 1 is extra) + synonym for cases as in "law" cases
9d anagram ...take off "is" add a ... then 1 letter is extra
23d synonym for mounts as in get up a mountain....+ H (L is extra)

Thanks both. So in 28 'cases they'll defend against' is all wordplay, and blackouts is definition?