Spectator N0 2663 By Cheesecracker

[Matakari]

Good day, a good workout from Cheesecracker this morning! Help with the following should give me some insight into the theme. Thanks in advance!

ACROSS:
1 Leaves evening party, returning by church (8) :  ???ER?O?

12 Rag Conservative, reluctant after defeat (10) : ?LO?R?LO?R

32 Resorts across Channel sent back nationals (9) : ????I????

42 WW2 commandos placed rearward stopping most of staff retreating (8 )  : ???N????

DOWN:

1 Admin personnel in firm create unknown effect on TV (9) : ??EO?A??Y

24 Met article turned aside when head of Vice retires (8) : ?N?W?R??

[teacher1]

1a.  cheerios

12a.  floorcloth

32a.  spaniards

42a.  chindits

1d.  chromakey

24d.  answered

[PiffPoff]

25A Maori dance twice caught cycling shorts (6)

?ACC??

[thestath]

Kaccha

[Matakari]

Gratitude, teacher1 for these answers! The last two clues before I get a glimpse of the Unclueds, thanks!

 9d King I see with bishop (4) : ?H??
11d Duck Princess heard (5)  : ????R

[Neveracrossword]

9 Ahab, king - Aha, I see + B, bishop.

11 Eider, duck, sounds like (apparently) Ida, princess.

Hope you fare well with the unclueds, Matakari.

[PiffPoff]

Can you please parse KACCHA?

[Neveracrossword]

Piffpoff, I parsed it (roughly) on an earlier thread. Haka is the Maori dance and there are 2 Cs. twice caught, two x abbreviation for caught. Cycling indicates the letters in Haka movealong a bit..

[PiffPoff]

Thanks, Neveracrossword. I looked through the other threads on this puzzle, but I guess I missed it.

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Piffpoff. I couldn't find the thread earlier - but found it now, it was listed as Spec... and then the number, I probably looked only for Spectator...

[Matakari]

Thanks, NACW, the unclueds look a bit tricky, but I'm stdying the title carefully to get a hint. And just a confirmation for this one, thanks!
27 Footballers clutching tight back ligaments (6) : ?R?EN?  ( ORIENT)

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Matakari. Orient is wrong for 27. It's Fraena (check yiur Chambers, it's a plural). It's FA for footballers, Footballers Association with Near, tight, mean (back = reversed) inside.

[teenieleek]

For NACW:  I hate "sounds like" clues because they never sound anything like the way they are pronounced in my neck of the woods.  Ida? Eider?  Where's the R? Reminds me of Eddie Izzard ranting about the US pronunciation of herb...."it's got a ******* h at the beginning!"

[Neveracrossword]

Teenieleek, many of the 'sounds like' clues are wasted on me, but I now just ignore them as much as I can.