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I'm still struggling - tips please for 40ac Rejected male...., 7d shoulder to a .... and 15d On spur of moment....

In all my downs so far, I can only see two of a kind. My column 7 so far has an appendage, so I'm nowhere near the theme

Thanks in anticipation, as always

dylan
40 abbrev male in 4-letter early synonym, all reversed
7 (not 7 actually!) def Scots word for shoulder, the rest I think you can work out

I’ve come off the rails somewhere. I have a clash at the end of 17a which, if resolved according to the preamble, will leave a discard that isn’t in the capitalised phrase. Two other clashes in 17a resolve fine and my 9d seems to fit with the other across entries. Ho hum. Time to put the kettle on……

I have a full grid, apart from the seventh column. Looking back over earlier posts many seem to have worked out the three words quite easily, but I can't see it at all. I also can't see yet which are the thematic answers. I appreciate it's the theme but could anyone give me a hint? Perhaps knowing which letter in column seven is a clash might help. Or not. It seems to me that 9 must be thematic because otherwise the clash would produce a discard not in the capitals in the preamble.

UK - your last sentence and its logic are correct.

So you just need to find a property or meaning that other answers also share… Googling 9 will pretty much do that immediately.

I realise this is laboriously spelling out what theme means - but you’re practically there.

ukridge

Yes, that's right about 9D and that sots out Jack aubrey's issue: thematics take precedence. Itshard to give a hint without giving the theme away but the six thematic objects are all placed deliberately within the grid either side of column 7.

Note to self (yet again!). Re-read the preamble!

Thank you muraria and hw7. That has helped.

Thanks for reminding me about that old IQ with the same theme!

I absolutely loved this. Each step of realisation about the complete nature of the theme was immensely enjoyable. And to the point made earlier in the thread about this being perhaps somewhat opaque to Americans, I think I take a slight bit of pride in being one myself (residing on this island) but managing to recognise and appreciate the full nature of the theme.

I had been on a different track for some time, as several answers (some ultimately thematic, some not) share an unrelated topic. Getting the central Down corrected me.

(Spotting the faux pas was, I think, my favourite moment in my short Listener-solving career to date, and the way it resolved was very impressive.)

Sadly I'm still unclear about a few elements of wordplay, despite a complete grid:
27ac, 34ac, 42ac

Any nudges welcome on those. I have definitions for each.