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I have all the 12s and 3 of the other 4. I can see something emerging from the latter but can't quite put my finger on it. Very gentle, non-spoilerish nudges for 20a and 2d might help me make the quantum leap into the endgame. The remaining one of the 4 isn't one of those two.

simon9x - for 20 think of an annoying noise you made as a child. 20 is an alternative spelling.

Simon9x - IMO 2D is a brute of a clue. Took me ages to see the wordplay despite knowing what the answer (last 2 words def) had to be.
Try to interpret 'Is' in a non-standard way.

Have what seems like all of the clues solved, bar 36ac, but unsure how to deal with the special eight into the grid and not a clue how to obtain any of the thematic elements. Completely at a standstill!

That went over my head, candledave. I imagine there’s something there whose relevance passed me by!

Thanks cockie and jbird54. I still can't see either so I'm wondering if I've gone wrong somewhere with the crossers. However, I'm confident about 11, 14 and 23 so maybe 2d doesn't start with the letter that I've assumed from the wordplay. For 1d, I have a word that isn't actually in Chambers but is a pretty obvious 'derivative' of a word that is. It satisfies the definition exactly but I can't see the wordplay at all so maybe it's wrong. I've spent hours on this so I think I'll sleep on it and try again tomorrow.

Simondx 1 down is a single letter and a 5 word breed of cattle giving an alternatve spelling for a word which means the last three words
2 down is defeating me

Thanks, mullingar. My 1d was correct after all.

re 2d. Read 'Is' as 'several occurrences of the letter I'

Thanks, mattrom. I don't think I'd have got that even after a good night's sleep!