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25. Brace means to bolster or steady; a bolster is also one of the flat heavy tools used by bricklayers

25 Double definition, first in the sense of support and then as a type of chisel used for cutting stone

20 Someone who has dealings with a letter is a lessee. S (ess) in Lee (the US general)

Thanks all...re 20....I'm surprised general LEE is singled out by crossword compilers!

5d. Man, US painter, welcoming Rex with it, a collector's item
RARITY

20a. Prospector in square close to Trafalgar
FORTY-NINER

15d. Fruit shop supplies Asian cooking ingredient
LEMON GRASS

1d. Extra weapon by Barrow?
SPEAR CARRIER

Parses for the above please.

5 R(ex) and IT inside (Man) RAY, a US artist who mostly worked in Paris

20 weak clue FORTY NINE is a square, followed by close to trafalgaR

15 LEMON - fruit, GRASS - shop as in "tell on", ingredient in Asian (Thai especially) cooking)

1da SPEAR CARRIER is an extra in a film or play who doesn't get to say anything. No idea what it has to do withBarrow, though.

Thanks chrisE....didn't know the grass/shop thing.
Also Barrow is capitalised - I wonder if it's someone's name.

A barrow is a carrier or cart (as in a wheel barrow). I not a fan of misleading capitalisation, unless it’s done with some humour :-)

thanks jono. not a good clue, as spear means the same in wordplay as in definition

Thanks all 👍

17a. Succeeded breaking into Russian city oil centre
TULSA

8d. Actress with stitch in side keeled over
MAE WEST

Parses for the above please.