Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

I've made much progress since my last display of inanity but the top right-hand corner is still completely untouched.
Assistance with this may kickstart the brain :
9A - Shyer personnel eclipsed by drag performer (7)
???????

thrower= shyer
hr=human resources=personnel
tower=drag performer

Thanks to G Kite for this - further efforts (of my own) have reduced the deficit to 4 but these remaining ones are baffling me :
8D - Scotch of superior flavour mostly - fizzy drink not from bottles (3, 1, 4, 2)
P?T A ??O? ??
18A - Small firearm used to guard house with jewel (9)
??O???E?O
23A - Getting to cat's side, mice's tails twitch (7)
?M???C
&
31D - Run off without permission, quietly seething (6)
?I?A?E

31d. pirate?

8d PUT A STOP TO u tast(e) superior flavour mostly inside POP fizzy drink , not from = to

showpiece?

Thanks to Chiff & MLeake for assistance

I have decided, in the absence of any better suggestions, that 23A must be EMETIC, though I can't parse it fully.

This leaves 13D - Romes' third Prime Minister's heading off offer for change (4) ? E ?D

Any bright ideas out there?

Roman 3rd prime number = v (5)
headless minister (t) end
offer for change = vend

With regard to 23 ac - cat can mean sick (Chambers) and the last letters of side calm and mice together with tic give emetic

Well, thanks to both - I didn't realize that "cat" was a synonym for sick before - you do, with any luck, learn something new every day.