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Think this may beat me. Genuinely don't understand 15a.
60d I have no idea how to even approach the clue to deconstruct it let alone add two letters. I'm well short in the SW corner and stuck for some time now. 22a also leaving me bemused.

..... and sorry for all the typos in my previous few replies - I'm watching the Paper Tiger comedy special of Bill Burr and, if there is one thing I've learnt about myself, it's that I cannot multi-task!

Hi Rocky,

I wouldn't be too disillusioned, I felt the same way several times but, bit by bit, I eventually got there:-)

15a - This was my least favourite clue - the answer is what cats have and what you cut when you shave with a cut-throat razor, although describing it as a "victim" is a stretch too far IMHO

60d - This is the Spanish name - see mine and Jono's @27 and @28

22a - the "Barber" is a composer and the answer is a specific work by him - 2 letter "present (an acronym) + an unusual word meaning "commission" on currency exchanges.

Hi Brendan. Clearly my 2d is wrong then because I had E as the third letter not I. Explains a lot. Thanks for the hints.

Hi Brendan and Rocky7

Samuel Barber is one of my favourite composers, especially the piece referred to here. But I had trouble parsing it.

I couldn't see the victim in 15ac

Time to look again at Brendan's hints.

OMG! I knew the piece (who doesn't!) but never knew it by name.

15a - I'd ignore the "victim" part of the clue, IMHO it only serves to muddy the waters.

Hi Brendan and Jono

More help needed and tomorrow I will map the answers to see why I have repeats of the two thematic letters in some answers.

In the meantime I can confirm that I had already guessed at 33d. I just didn't know the sauce. Similarly, I thought 34ac might be a fabler, but the answer has messed up 24 for me. I can only see one answer for this and can't see why it is right. I've never heard of 60d. I don't do sport!! But I got it from googling.

I've also tackled 21ac, 5d and 6d and cannot solve them. I've identified a Scottish Island and a homophone for smashing Oz, but can't make a word with two more letters. I'm not sure how to spell the homophone for either the island or the smashing Oz.

Finally, I'm mystified by 43d. I have ?I?C?R Are my letters right.

Hi Roof,

24a - 4 letter "barrow" as in 'wheelbarrow' around 2 letter "exercise" - definition is "runner" as in a large strip of cloth (like a rug)

21a - the thematic pair are at the end and it makes the "isle" into a chemical/radical

5d - the initial answer is an alternate letters/regularly (no idea of the definition) and the themed answer is a little bird

6d - 3 letter "John" a slang word + single letter "knight" - initial definition is a bird and thematic definition a city.

43d - Your letters are correct. The "buttress" is one you might see at a seaside and the thematic definition is a type of claw that a crab might have.

Good luck Roof, see you tomorrow:-)

Still stuck on a few, and not too sure about some that I have in.
Any hints for 42d (N_M_O) and 78a (D_R_N_) would be much appreciated.

Hi Docrum,

42d - the initial answer is literally "half a minute" reversed with definition a "game" (an old Chinese game not well known here but in Chambers) - the thematic pair go at the end giving the name of late English actor, mainly light comedy) - Your letters are correct.

78a - the initial answer is Scottish word for "strike" or beat but more commonly it means a light bell sound - the thematic pair are the 2nd and 3rd letter giving a word meaning 'stunning' or 'bewildering' - Your R is wrong.