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could someone kindly help me to parse 20 down. Very frustrating when all the rest is complete. Thanks.

Hi Uncle_w,

20d - 4 letter "large bets" minus the extra letter + "to principally" - definition "make available online"

Hi Brendan, thanks very much for helping me get over the line.

Thanks Uncle_w, I had a similar experience trying to parse 31d (and it appears I wasn't alone) before the light finally dawned and I was able to call it completed:-)

Lovely puzzle, and thank you Chalicea. I have a loose end at 18a, however. I have the answer but cannot parse the last 4 words of the wordplay. Please can I have a nudge?

Ah, ignore that last post. The magic of posting!

I very much agree with the praise in here so far—it was nice to solve a slightly gentler puzzle and I very much enjoyed all the clues!

I also was particularly pleased to have been able to identify and complete the thematic text when the grid was still relatively sparsely filled. There have only been a handful of times I've been able to do this entirely from existing knowledge rather than relying on Google to fill in gaps or (more often) even get the slightest idea of where to begin.

Would you enlighten me please, Kitsune? I tried it with except CA for Central America and with except R for the center of the word America. Couldn't get anything to work.

Hi MPRS,

18a - the "central" refers to which "America" to remove/"except for" leaving you with the answer plus the extra letter

Ah thanks, Brendan. That didn't occur to me. Plus I didn't know that word for muslin.