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Hi, Rusty!
So your new jacket has been on its first outing!
I use my down coat mainly for dog walking as it is far superior in warmth to any of my other padded coats.
The only down side (sorry about the pun....groan!) to the "down" is the washing process...or rather the "drying" part....
The coat has to be machine washed (not dry-cleaned) and then dried in the tumbler -drier ( not air-dried) with rotating balls in the drying machine to break up the down.... and prevent if from flocking.
Ever so often, one has to stop the drier and shake out the coat.
Quite a performance!
But probably you have had down coats before, and you know all this?
It was "new" to me!
Yes, a difficult crossword!
I am stuck on the bottom third........

Hello, Elle!
I do not know "flocking"?
I do not think I have had down coats before, that I know of.
I have several walking jackets, one of them I have had for 26 years, but it is fairly heavy, and will last forever.
And it is bright yellow, easily seen in dark or murky weather.
21, is an anagram, but it is a new word to me.
15d is a new word to me, as well.
And 23! A composer, that thankfully Anne Bradford knew!
And 12a is new to me, too.
It is a toughie!

Good afternoon, Rusty!
Ah.... well, at least you now know how to wash your coat!
In this instance, "flocking" means "clumping together".
It is apparently essential to prevent the down from clumping whilst drying.
Right, now...….
After a lot of effort ( in between a drop- in visitor, and a long phone call from a daughter) I am finally down to three clues that I cannot do!
I have 21a: P?U?I?T
24a: L?B?I?D
27a: S?L?N?E?Y
I got "Lully" for the composer in 23d, thanks to your hint about Anne B knowing,
but cannot parse it?
What am I not seeing, please?

Hello, Elle!
21 is "Poujadist", anagram, something to do with a French lad.
24 is "lobbied", "lob" is an old term for a "lout" apparently, and "one/I" in "bed", (not up yet).
I liked that one!
27 is "splintery", notice is "spy", the ship is a "liner", with "t" for temperature, within.
I wonder if the setter is meaning "lully" as in lullaby.
Does "lull" mean relax?
I have not looked it up.

Hi, Rusty!
Thank you for your help…..
I have never heard of a "poujadist!
I can see now that it an anagram of "paid o just"...but would never have arrived at that by myself.
Collins Online dictionary tells me that
"Poujadism is:
a conservative reactionary movement to protect the business interests of small traders"
I understand the others now that you have explained them to me.
Yes. "lull", used as a verb, can mean "relax".
So doe the "y" come from the word "you" in the clue?
I didn't know that "y" is an accepted abbreviation/alternative / whatever the terminology is/ for "you"?
I have just consulted Anne B, but she doesn't have it?

Hello, Elle!
For me, no, I don't think the "y" comes from there.
The "?" at the end suggests to me that the setter means "lully" as meaning "susceptible to being lulled", if that makes any sense?
I suggest the setter is having a bit of fun and creating a new "word"?
That's my guess, but I could be way wrong!

Hi, Rusty!
Oh, I see...I hadn't thought of that.
You may well be right.....
It would certainly account for the question mark, wouldn't it?
I'm not sure I like it, though?

Hello, Elle!
For me the "?" indicates the setter is only suggesting the word.
Probably because it does not exist, apart from a proper name.
Can't see it in Chambers or Collins.
I think it's okay-ish, but I would understand if some folk objected to it.

Lully is a word in the Urban dictionary, meaning something warm and cuddly. Not that it matters, since that isn't a recognised dictionary..

Christmas dinner totally spoiled by an argument over a sprout, a single blasted sprout.

Good evening, Rusty!
I strongly suspect that you are right about "lully" - it is the question mark that has decided me!
I might have a go at the Jumbo GK after dinner...
I have been reading - of all things, as I haven't read one for years! - an Agatha Christie novel that I "found".
Yet another one that bears my maiden name!
(I think I used to write my name in my books back in my student days when I was flat-sharing! so you can see how old is the book!)
Funnily enough, I also uncovered the programme of "The Mousetrap" yesterday!

Ros, you seem to be dogged by sprouts....!
What happened?