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I don’t have the puzzle to hand, tomsdad, I’m afraid. But as I recall, each of the letters in the pangram can precede each of the extra words in the order the clues are presented, beginning with “C horizon”. Next may be “W particle”, but my memory could be mistaken

My apologies, Tomsdad and others, It's the other option for Celtic you need (P). Don't know how I managed to mess that up, and I hope I haven't caused people to waste too much time.

Ah! I now see that it is the P that comes from 27d!

Thanks Loge and Quisling. I can now google "c horizon" and "w particle", etc to confirm them, but I would not have been aware of all the terms otherwise. This certainly seems like one of those IQ's where you have to know the answers before you start!

Indeed, Tomsdad. I think it’s a real challenge to work out the pangram by locating the extra words and then inferring the letters. I was lucky to stumble across the exact pangram first, after which confirming the letters’ associations with the extra words was more straightforward. That’s one reason why I posted the link, though I was keen to obscure the URL. I hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s fun.

Anyone have any idea of the relevance of the puzzle title?

face=front? Missing front letter? Maybe.

I think the title words’ 3 and 4 letter synonyms add together to make the 7 letter theme. Obscure, because the first is slang and the second is obsolete

Quisling - yes, the definitions fit so I'm sure you're right. But it's almost as obscure as that sentence! I think solving this puzzle depended on deducing the theme early on, rather than working it out from the single letters. And even seeing the words in the completed grid didn't really help with any reverse engineering.

I quite agree, Nelson. I have solved many of Ifor’s puzzles over the years, in the Listener, I, Magpie and elsewhere. I know he reads these fora, as he posts occasionally. I greatly admire his clueing, which is always sound and subtle, and his output. His endgames can be a little GWIT for my taste, but others may well disagree. But at his best, like Listener 4593, Death Row, he is marvellous. So thanks, Ifor, always a challenge!