24a man on board recited sketch d?a?t. no doubt draft but why? doctor aft? man = r = ralph ellison with the invisible invisible, on daft = side of a ship,
sk-etch = slovakian itch?...
for andy as is
17d afternoon = pm
a (newspaper= ft) (editor running leaders = er) not working = no on
29a popcorn = snack
fizzy drink = (soda) pop
cheese and corn are both old jokes...
as to why 12a is tool. saw plane chopper (as in axe) are all cutting tools each with other connotations. now fleming's rosa klebb's shoe had a switchblade toe which is another tool. klebb is played by...
20a. house martin finally going round french city (5) n?m?s. the only such french city is nimes but to extract those letters from house martin takes more surgery than i can swallow (which is a house...
6a crusty tripe sandwiches lead to revulsion g?u?f. likely gruff but the revulsion hit me in 23d where there was yet again wee. the setters need diapers
2d what stars do with wee curtains t?i?k?e
must be twinkle but if wee is (unforgivably) tinkle where's the other wee w from. i wont buy its common abbrev for windowtreatment...
7d sauce - it has Latin starter with it t?l?a (5) where the t comes from 4a soiled contents of wide pants revered ?d?l???d (8) which i took to be adulated from adulterated with ter mysteriously from...
1a hum overtures of otello and carmen backwards in box c?f?i?
must be coffin they carry you off in (not often) but how is ff hum? the buzz is that fortissimo is the opposite...
19d second flaming offence (3) s?n must be sin but flaming is more likely on than in, i don't remember the second deadly sin being over-obviousness 21d initially, carry on about too much material (6)...
20a they are initially thought to come from outer space (4) initially they would be c.f.o.s who are admittedly alien to all that is good but shouldn't the clue be ... to unfold from outer space? or to...
22a a meaty story? (4,3) ??r? p?e
is pork pie a story as well as Oppenheimer's hat
it's a least another story
20d expand before cutting down (6)
if it's spread are we cutting calories?...