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Benoliver, not Sour. Take the usual 'non drinker' out of a common word, an adjective, for 'improved'. You'll then have a very common drink

Aaah thank you! I was trying to think along the lines of tee = tea etc but wasn't aware of TT as an abbreviation

Glad I could help. The abbreviation, listed in Chambers, pops up in crosswords from time to time.

These two are driving me mad!

22d Done by screwing at a distance (6) B?Y?N?

26a Tend to hold against hack (5) C?R?E - either curse or carve but can't parse.

Any help appreciated.

22 BEYOND (anagram)
26 CARVE - care (tend) around V (versus/against)

Thanks very much Chrise. As soon as I had typed my question, the obvious anagram in 22d suddenly became apparent!

9d) Breaking into house, Dicky turned weak (6)
?A?L?D

Is 'Dicky' ail - if so, I still can't seem to parse any sensible answer

Looks like PALLID?
PAD for house, with ILL backwards inside
It all seems a bit loose, though.

Seems good enough to me & I can now put this grid to bed, thanks

8ac
Old state finally admits boob (4,4)
?a?e ?t