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27a. NIT (fool) inside II (the even letters from kiwi) + ALLY (friend)

Thanks jono

16d. Try nut and bolt to secure area
ENDEAVOUR

23d. Religious image from Mondrian, possibly almost his last
PIETA

8d. Chop up cane, crush and lick
MAKE MINCEMEAT OF

Parses for the above please.

16a. I always enjoy nut for EN and mutton for EM (printing terms). Here we have EN (nut) + DEVOUR (bolt) and A (area).

23d. Mondrian is PIET. Perhaps the A comes from his penultimate letter?
Chambers tells us that a pietà is a “representation of the Virgin with the dead Christ across her knees”.

8d could be a quadruple definition.
Chambers has a definition of "cane" as ... transitive verb To defeat thoroughly (informal)
The others are more obvious.