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A fairly gentle gridfill and extras which led me up a very familiar and well-loved garden path. Took me a while to spot the diversion but once grasped it was all there in plain sight. Thank you, Aedites.

I think you will be reassured when you see the puzzle, Malone. As one who has inadvertently trespassed before (I still occasionally wake up at 0300 remembering “belay my last pipe”) I’m particularly sensitive to unnecessary revelations. And I don’t think there are any here yet.

What do you do if you can't work out the phrase and you have two possible names but can't see either of them in the grid?

Not really looking for any suggestions at this early stage, just venting some frustration.

Thanks, everyone - I decided to 'do a Norah', err on the side of caution! Without the preamble,things like the 'curve', and 'at the centre' seemed particularly generous. I'm glad there's not a problem - and that, thankfully, is pretty much the norm here.

Would some kind soul please help explain the wordplay in...

36a - Hero behind limitless prolonged hostility in area with common currency (8)

I have the answer and "limitless prolonged hostility" but, just for my peace of mind, is the "hero" a true life legendary figure sometimes known by another name that could be connected to a synonym of 'blossom'? - I'm trying to be as vague (dare I say cryptic) as possible.

This is the only clue I'm not where certain of the parsing and I'd like to fix that before I begin on the endgame.

Brendan - I think your question is harder than the grid-fill!! If you're thinking of an actor with the 'alternative first name', I believe the answer is YES.

Thoroughly enjoyable. Yes, a quick grid fill, but it still felt like a challenge and the last stage had me smiling. Managed to get the name before the curve, which helped less than I had hoped! Thank you, Aedites.

Thank you J Bird, that is exactly who I was thinking of:-)

I'm also very relieved you thought my question was difficult to solve and so not a poiler.

Kudos on working out the actor from the "blossom" as synonym hint - I'm impressed:-)

Brendan, are you a fan of “The Sound Of Music”? I’m thinking “Edelweiss” …

Hi Quisling,

My memories of early childhood are pretty vague but I think that was the film I ever saw in the cinema.

However, I'm afraid youv'e completely lost me on its relevance to my query 😥