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Got there at last - but only with the help of this forum on 3d - so thanks, folks. 1d came to me when I realised what the first name was - but then I had to look up how to spell the rest. 16a and 19a were new words for my vocabulary - and I do like it when one learns something from a puzzle.

Could someone help me parse 13 across - is the ‘com’ needed for the solution? Thanks

"from" indicates a container clue - .com just helps with the surface reading, I think ("match" is not a website).

Hi William, no, it’s just an inclusion and a bit jokey

Thanks both

Femmenoire, thanks for your helpful comments. Just to contribute on a couple of things you mention that haven't been picked up ( I think). 2d- the number of letters taken from each word is determined by 'leading couples', I think.
And 24a- I concluded that ' perhaps' is meant to stand for the last two letters, rather than ' example' having been left out.

I solved 2d the same way. Nice clue.

24a was pretty straightforward for me old (ex) joke (pun) and perhaps meaning example, abbreviated and reversed (comeback).

It can sometimes be hard to explain parsing but I've done my best!

Thanks grum and rossim for the perfect explanations. Good to know (for that fully satisfactory crossword experience)! Also might help in solving future xwords.