3 D. Check gate no. 99 periodically for trucks (6) chor?? 20 A. Surgeon without backing covers last of slime mould (7) h?e???el NB. The wordplay in some clues leads to the entry minus one letter. I...
24 D. Say Easter prayers ultimately for church in volcanic country (6) ???an? It could possibly be ?s?an? I could only come up with Litany, but I don't really want that - and the 'y' would mess up a...
7 D. Hurry, I'm not taking you back for gum! (5) u??r? 36 A. Eccentric old labourer being a little emotional on retirement (4) us?? This is a thematic crossword - there may be an extra or missing...
38 A. Brogues heard round back of room in intimate chat (8) ?c?m?o?e I've got Schmooze because I feel 'schooze' sounds more like Shoes. I'm not 100% certain, so would welcome other opinions....
This, my last one, has me puzzled.
5 D. Luvvie covets this to bits (5) ?p?r?
I can see 'Opera', which might attract Luvvies, but I don't understand the rest of the clue!...
My last one, just one little letter needed...
24 D. Early - very early - prehistoric hill fort (4) ?ath
Bath is all I can see, but have no real reasoning....
4 D. Picked up a revolutionary fish roe (6) t?ra?? 26 A. Father put in acceptable flowers, encouragement for the kids (10) ??a???sie? (Sea-daisies would fit, but I can't see how that works)....
This has me puzzled... 23 A. Randy exploiter of viewers (5) o?l?r I can see Ogler but I can't parse it all. If the first word in the clue gets sanitised, it's a five-letter word that rhymes with...
18 D. Siberian diamonds need cutting (3-4). Ice-Cold is what I have. I can see 'Ice' equalling 'diamonds' and 'cold' equalling 'cutting' (perhaps), but I don't see where 'need' comes in.
34 A. Cockney girl arranged tie that's twisted (6) a?riet. I can see Arriet, 'Arriet, how a Cockney might say Harriet - but is that it? It seems very poor!
I'm slightly puzzled by 21 D...
Wall Street character good on City floor (5)
I had G?c?o, so got Gecko - G/good+ec/city+ko/floor (knock out). The Wall Street character was Gekko, wasn't it?...