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I thought I had romped home but 43a "slimy scrubber Liechtenstein expelled" has foxed me. I have ?o?y but am getting nowhere. I suppose li must be removed from a longer word to reach from scrubber to slimy or vice versus. I need a hint in some direction or other.

You need a six-letter word for scrubber (as in harlot!) and remove the two letters for Liechtenstein - they're not Li! This'll leave you with a synonym for 'slimy'.

Tip for 1d? Am I right with ?LA?O?
Clue is: NCO catches composer in race (5)

Yes, your letters are fine. The composer is...relatively unknown (well, to me!). NCO is swapped for another abbreviation, a specific NCO. I got the answer from the last word in the clue, which is the definition - and then I worked backwards.

Thanks Malone. Where did I get li ? The harlot direction presented itself but the li left me bereft.

Glad I could help, Truron. I wondered where your 'li' came from!