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Right you are. Didn't have the puzzle in front of me. 2 articles + accepted it is.

i actually think its a neater clue without accepted

I’ve come to this puzzle late but have enjoyed it so far. I have 11 out if 12 but am stuck with 32D which presumably is going to be describing a Continental and begin with a capital letter (A.) which might be the first letter of a vessel. I’m thinking of three letters for Joey’s mother though may be wrong in thinking of an animal mother instead of a human one. Help please!

You want a 4 letter Australian animal (not beginning with A) followed by a 3 letter vessel (with an e for energy inside the vessel). The whole thing is a Continental

It's 4 letters for the (animal) mother. The vessel comes later.

Huge thanks. I’d not met that animal before! Am I now looking for eight letters surrounding a clash?

Aha! I’ve found what I thought I was looking for!

And the replacement is as I anticipated. Very nice!

Useby, thanks for your response at #36. I can get the letter I expected by selecting one of the thematic items, but it seems a bit arbitrary. Listener puzzles do not usually leave room for doubt, but having said that, the preamble could not be described as inaccurate or misleading. I think I probably have the right answer, but the lack of certainty is bothering me.

OptO, it’s not arbitrary (as the preamble says in the first part of second sentence). It’s one of the delights of the puzzle.