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24a Ball not quite hitting target? End almost cut off, willingly (6, 2 words)

Please help me solve this clue

The word BALL ('from the clue') has a three-letter word for 'quite' removed from it (leaving just a single letter), then a two-word phrase (2,5) meaning 'hitting [the] target' in a golfing context has most of the word END ('end almost') removed ('cut off') in order to produce a (3,3) French expression.

Greetings - please help with parsing 28 d
Tickle? One doing this will get fish (5)
Begins with g and ends in e

I have an answer but no idea how it works!
Thanks

Think 'fondle' rather than tickle, and a person who does the fondling ('one doing this') also being the name of a fish.

Thanks - obvious in retrospect!

I don't like to diss Azed as I'm a great fan, but he's turned an American city into a state - and if I recall correctly, this isn't the first time!

Loge, if you refer to 22, ALA is a traditional abbreviation for Alabama and the solution parses perfectly, unless I am mistaken,

M

I was referring to 26 down.

It's a remarkably common error - perhaps the confusion is with a real state whose name begins with the same letter. I must admit that I didn't spot it when writing my blog for the puzzle and it had to be pointed out to me by a reader.

My apologies Loge - M