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Made some progress, but still have five to get: 6d, 12ac (despite hint above), 18ac, 24d and 27ac.

There are seven more which I can't fully parse, but which I'm sure are right. Then there is 24ac for which I have a capital, but I can't parse it even with the hint back on the thread. I shall give Picaroon a miss next time.

I was also annoyed about 1ac, which I gather is a cricketing term I didn't know.

I managed to get 10ac by googling rhetoric, where I found the answer. I have guessed at the answer to 6d, but still can't parse it. Anyway, time for bed.

I forgot to say my FOI was 22ac. I have no LOI and I think my COD is 19ac. It might have been 25ac, but the groan factor was very high!

Hi Roof I think 6d is four letter word for “boring” but take off last letter, two letter word for “attending” around (houses) the remaining 3 letters in the middle. Def is lots of sex / violence…I thought of cinema ?

Hi Roof in case you still haven’t parsed these, I make them …18ac is a backwards hidden , def is article.
24d def is former state, think Far East and letters going upwards
27ac def is “hiding” as in give out a hiding….5 letter syn for Guy (think “bloke”) three letter word for criminal inside this together with a manipulated version of “into” at the end ???
Cheers, Tony

I'm back to this today as I got absolutely nowhere yesterday. Definitely not on the setters wavelength. Can someone help me out on 1a - it looks like an obvious anagram but I've a Y in there which I'm sure is right. Is it only partially an anagram maybe? If my Y is wrong please tell me before it drives me nuts! Thanks.

Hi Havermonkey, your Y is correct and you’re also correct in thinking part anagram… the last 5 letters. A cricketing term.

Thanks Jono, at least I know one of my few entries wasn't wrong! Will keep battling on. Unfortunately my cricket knowledge is only the basics.

Havergoodheart havermonkey. I'm similarly, and more than usually, struggling with this one. I'm clearly not on Picaroon's wavelength this weekend. Or old age has suddenly increased the rapidity of my cognitive abilities. I'm only half done, but would be happy to share hints from those I have completed. It's likely most normal posters will have completed it and moved on by now.
But I do like what I have solved. All pretty neat. (Although I can't really see how the outer three letters of 5D fits the clue)

"The rapidity of the decline in my cognitive abilities" I meant of course. Case proven?

Those letters in 5d come from “for one”, as in “e.g.”