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ok, so i had nothing else on, so i (nearly) completed it, but i have a blank spot on 6d - no idea of either wordplay or definition. any hints, please?

One takes orders from one wearing hose (6)
?a?t?r

femmenoire and chrise re 11a: the three-letter version is a valid alternative in the dictionaries. Google should never be the authority when it comes to crosswords, surely? And chrise: if this is what caused you not to bother, I’d urge you to reconsider. 11a is both valid and excellent, as is the puzzle as a whole.

Chrise I interpreted it as what you find in a hose (garden variety), around 1, Def being someone who's job it is to take orders...

thanks justsolve. i think we have to take "hose" as a verb.

Yes Chrise that works!

Thanks Jono, so obvious now you've explained it! I was completely red-herringed!

Thanks both, I was struggling with that one

How crosswords can mess you up. 5d I had the 2nd 4th and last crosser and became convinced the answer was Venezualan with a very tricky parsing. Took me ages to try another route to the answer .which I now have .

Brain fog can’t see 24a

Think newspaper and pad as in bachelor pad, perhaps