Crossword Help Forum
Forum Rules

clues have been doctored at some point by the omission of one "C"
17a At entering fidgety mare - protective covering required (6) R??O??
31a Old hooking tool that's dug inside arid fruit? (9) C?????P??

think 31a may be crabapple?

17. Radome?, a(c)t = do within an anagram of mare?

31a might be CHICHIPES (plural of CHICHIPE) - a Mexican fruit-bearing cactus? Can't parse beyond HIP (cool, contemporaneous with DUG (past of DIG as in "I dig that")
A bit tenuous... Please post the answer if you figure it out!

Anyway Ginge sounds spot on!

The answer is crabapple ( it fitted with my other answers) but I'm still pondering on the wordplay.
assume arid should be aCrid

Hi bunty,
at last, cra(bap)ple, craple is an old form of grapple and dug= breast/nipple = bap(slang)
so the "c" is a(c)rid rather than the other possibility (C)old.

Thanks ginge - glad that's all sorted!