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Could someone please give me a steer on how to approach 17a?

My bottom half is empty apart from 14a and 20a.

17: defn. is "fried patisserie item", though it's less upscale than the French would imply. Parses as 5 (slang term for "Greens" as in US "greenbacks") followed by 3 (slang for "fruitcake", though a 5-letter adjective "as ***** as a fruitcake" is more often used IMO).

druh, since you got 20, 24 is another hidden that should help with the bottom half. It's a very tough Everyman this week. 18 (parses as 1, 5) and 19 (parses as 3, 3 - a late lamented Guardian setter nick) are also quite gettable. 22 is a nice homonym that I got fairly quickly despite generally struggling with such clues.

I have T ? I for the second word of twelve across - is that right? Difficult to think of an (English) word that would fit!

Is BUCKS the slang term?

Correct Steve

Druh, no, but you are on the right track…

I too am stuck on 25. I also thought that it started ref for judge, but a previous comment implies this isn't right. Can anybody lead me to the light?

Steve
12a is a rum based cocktail. It’s a homophone of a phrase meaning ask for permission (would you let me)

Thanks Jono, got it now but never heard of it - rather like most of the composers in yesterday's prize!