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A very enjoyable and testing gridfill. Sadly I am struggling with the missing letters at 7 & 8 down which is hampering my chances with completing the end-game.

Bobby, they are in the 2nd word of 7d, and the 5th word of 8d. The word those two missing letters complete is quite a specific one in the context of the process

Thanks, as ever, quisling. I shall press on.

I was away for the weekend so only got to this on Monday evening, and it has kept me going since then. Some tough clues! I am not sure I understand them all completely, but there is no doubt about the final grid. The fourth step actually took me the longest until the penny dropped. Thank you Check for a brilliant first puzzle.

Thanks, quisling - I reckon you’re right with that interpretation.

You were right, quiz, to be uneasy about your original idea, I think. Extraneous words do occasionally turn up, but they are almost almost justified as improving the surface. And while some setters are brave enough to ignore dialect or obsolete indicators, I don’t think a rookie would dare!

What a fine puzzle! Some quite tricky clues, but no complaints there. And a delightful endgame. I do have a couple of minor quibbles with the preamble, but I'll leave those for now. I got stuck on enacting step one for quite a while, but once I spotted what was going on it's actually entirely determined. Very nice. Many thanks Check.

There are a couple of clues that are just slightly bothering me. In 17, I have the definition (snigger), but I'm not sure about the wordplay. Conversely, in 22, I have the wordplay, but it seems to produce a word I can't quite match up with the definition: to incite is not the same as to play a prank on, is it?

Brendan, thank you for the parsing help!

MC - 17 is a word for expressing gratitude (You shouldn’t have) inside a computing abbreviation for local connections, reversed.
I share your concern about 22 but I suspect we might both be wrong and someone here will explain.

I suppose it depends on whether you consider throwing things at people is a prank or an assault.