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Hi all- late to the party for this occasional contributor to this forum, as always. I've appreciated several hints so thanks for those. Really struggling with the last two downs- split clues 22/7 and 23/8. There's been no discussion of them as far as I can see, which means I'm missing something really obvious. Tbh I'm struggling with both NE and SW corners- hoping a shaft of light might open them up for me.

Parsing of 25a also a mystery (and not entirely sure I've picked the right first letter).

Appreciate the forum, even though mostly I stay silent (usually because people have moved on by the time I get here!) So thanks to all the regulars.

Hi Grum,
22/7 is an anagram (part of which is a single letter).
23/8 parses 5,3 where the 5 is a synonym for jump and the 3 is an anagram of a single word from the clue.

Thanks jono, - 23/8 falls into place. I'll work on the other. Much appreciated

Completed now- thanks again jono for getting me over the line

Hi all, I'm back to it this morning but still stumped on 1d and 25a. A gentle hint on how they break down would be welcome! Enjoyed all the rest, slow but methodical parsing.

Ah got 1d so just 25a. I'm trying desperately to see past the same wrong answer everyone else had!

Throughly enjoyed this tricky and amusing offering from Pasquale. Always good to learn some new words. Still working on some parsing but that will keep me occupied on this miserable wet and windy day.
FOI 10a
LOI 25a of course
COD 6d and 11d brilliant and funny.
Thanks for hints and comments always enjoy the crack even if I don’t contribute.

Just two left, 25 & 27.
I have two solutions for 25, one fits the " nick" part but not the "last word", the other fits "last word" but not the "nick! As a former chemist I favour the former solution (which would fit quite a few other elements including oxygen, sulphur, magnesium.
As for 27, I also have no solutions which parse but have ?d?o?s?n

Redpete your crossers are right for 27. All I can say is build it up in parts then look up the word to see if it exists! You're looking for a 'right'. I think...

RedPete
Your letters are correct for 27.
For 25 it is the chemistry one, but I'm still not happy about it. "Nick" means a cut to me, not a dent, and copper isn't just....the answer.
The alternative wouldn't be right, though, as they are almost always tungsten (or iron) rather than copper.