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Thanks drxx, it all makes sense now.
I hadn't thought of Maine.

Thanks Jono but I have been doing exactly as you suggested to no avail.

Coming late to this, but really struggling with two final clues - 20D (for which I have 1st and 3rd letters) and 25A (for which I have 2nd and 6th letters). From my determination each has the “feature” and I know what that is. Any prods in the right direction?

Hi Pageboy,

20d - 4 letter "coloured" around the 'feature' - definition is "skirt" (presumably an old meaning hence 'in the past') but is mpore commonly used to mean 'embrace'.

25a - 4 letter "stages" (think bike races or the like) minus extra letter + 4 letter "butts" - definition is "stars" as in famous people

20d - A synonym for 'coloured' (4 letters) goes around the missing bits ('seen in the past' is a reference to the tense required for the def).
25a - 'Stars' as in major celebrities - 4 letters for 'stages' comes first (with an extra letter clued).

I think you've just matched quizling in the eerie timing department, brendan.

Indeed Drxx:-)

PS Of course you are right that 'in the past' is just indicating the tense of the answer - my mistake.