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Hopefully the problems with the forum will be resolved soon, but it seems a few people are still logged in, so I’ll open the usual Everyman thread in case anyone has questions.

Enjoyed this one. Needed Chambers to confirm 6a (assuming I’m reading it correctly). And I thought ‘bear’ and ‘monarch’ in 20a might have been a reference to Paddington’s appearance yesterday, but I doubt Everyman had advance notice of this!
Cheers all :-)

Ignore my comment re 6a. Of course, it’s far more obvious than I was making it!

After 30 mins had all bar 6a, 10a,25a and 7d. After an hour hadn't got any further. Most frustrating.
I've looked up answers and can't see how 6a and 10a work.

Hi Loubylou,
I couldn’t see 6a at first either. It’s a double definition where one definition is a unit of measurement and the other a box of wires.
10a definition ‘resolve’. Wordplay is a 5 letter word for an incongruous situation, missing the last letter (almost).

7d is a 3-word "spoil", 3-word drink and 5-word friend, giving "slightly".

Thanks to Everyman, quite a good puzzle though solved fairly quickly. Some quibbles about 6 and 10: got them after some pondering but not particularly fond of the clues. FOI 1d, LOI 10. No clear COD but enjoyed most of the longer solutions.

I’ve searched everywhere and can’t find the second definition in 6. Very obscure, especially for an Everyman. Good puzzle otherwise.

Hi Norman
Try searching for Marshall ----. You'll see thousands of them.

I actually liked 6a even though I didn't see it at first either. Not only is it a valid double def, but each instance is a shortened form of a more formal term. I'm making it my COD. Also liked the rhyming pair clues. The only thing I'm still not sure about is 2. The homophone for an herb I get, but not bird.

Bird is cockney rhyming slang for a prison sentence (rhymes with "bird-lime" according to CHambers).