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23a: defn. is "server", think Starbucks for instance. A popular crossword term for "horse" appears backward in the answer.

I found it quite difficult to get started with this one but once I found my way in I was fine. An enjoyable puzzle.

12: Defn. "top prelate", parses as 2 ("scripture class") inside 5 ("course").

Hi again roof
14d your letters are right. It's a fancy word for breeding birds.
23a "Server" rather than "horse"
12a Def first two words. Put an abbreviation for "scripture class" in "course" as something you might eat.

geeker @33
A slip of the keyboard there!

Spent the day travelling so got to this late - as others, I rattled through it only to struggle with the last few. 25a defo new to me - only got it by putting possible starting options into Google…and the parsing evaded me before coming on here. Anyway, we are at a nice hotel for our anniversary and there’s currently a power cut - so the evening meal may be interesting!

Happy Anniversary Drjax

I've tried to gogle, but got nowhere. I'll check out Latin tags in my dictionary and ask my husband, who did Latin at school.

Any hints for 11ac I have L?F????. Is this a word I know?

I did get 12ac, which helped me finish that quadrant.

Hi Roof,

Sorry to hear about your sore back:-(

11a - "Jack" as in you might find in a car so it's a double definition - your letters are correct.

Many thanks Brendan. I hadn't thought of that kind of Jack.

I haven't been able to find an answer for 25ac - no Latin tag, and my husband didn't know. I can't think of the country bumpkin. I haven't got 23d which would give me another letter. Only four remaining now of this horrid crossword. Ah just three now. I've got 3d. No I lie - I had
counted 22d. The others are 4d,23d and 25ac

Thanks Roof,

4d - The "board" in question relates to a game and the "mass" is a weight.

23d - "strapping" is a containment indicator, so you have "by" going around/strapping an "American" - definition is "tied up"

25a - I'd never heard of this phrase and needed a wordsearch engine to get it. See Johnnykingsman's post @8 for the parsing.

PS Thank you JohnnyKingsman, for explaining the wordplay:-)