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44d Excuse to spread like a kilt (7)

Looks like pleated but can't parse it.

All help much appreciated.

Plea = Excuse +TED is the TED spread, a measure of the difference between the value of three-month Treasury bills and three-month Eurodollar futures contracts.

"TED is the TED spread, a measure of the difference between the value of three-month Treasury bills and three-month Eurodollar futures contracts". Thank you for the explanation Malone. Inexcusably obscure, in my opinion, how many people could be expected to know that?

I'm slightly more than half way through, including ones I can't parse such as:
32d Starts dance where engagement doesn't require entering union (4,4). Open shop? (I get the "opens hop" split, but not the rest).
37d Confectioner not the first to copy fizz on part of wedding cake (11) Chocolatier?
42d Mischievous person is important for apostle's higher ecstasy (9) Prankster?

StrangelyBrown, yes, TED was definitely obscure - but I'd looked in Chambers just in case 'Ted' meant something relevant... and it did!

32. If you start work (engagement) in a place that doesn't require you to be in a (trade) union, it's called an Open Shop.

37 - Echo is 'to copy', not the first = drop the E, so Cho +Cola, fizz+Tier, part of wedding cake. Chocolatier, confectioner.

42 Is important = ranks
P(E)TER = APOSTLE with E for Ecstasy?

Not convinced by 42d but thanks both.

StrangelyBrown, you're owed an apology - and an explanation. You thought my TED was rather obscure, which it is, but it worked in a way. However, what works even better is the other definition of 'ted' - simply a verb, meaning to spread (new mown grass) for drying'. The TED spread was at the top of one page in my Chambers, the simpler definition was on the preceding page.

PS I know this doesn't matter a great deal, but I feel I should apologise for giving you inaccurate/incomplete information!