Times Book Of Crosswords

[barnaclebill58]

Please parse these for me -have spend over an hour without success.
1. Fights to get a few words in one's ear. Ans affrays(=fights) but no idea how the rest of the wording works.
2. Bad situation for graduate. Ans Pass . I don't see how a pass is a bad situation -a fail would be.
3. Calamity Jane's inclination to carry a hidden gun. Ans Alarmist. I can see a l arm ist but can't see why CJ was an alarmist.
4. Perhaps loosening tie that may be too tight. Ans Granny knot . A granny knot can become undone but can't get the "may be too tight" bit.
5. Meant to play an essential part in organisation's structure. Ans Inbuilt. No idea.
6. One in a hundred? Just the reverse , right now. Ans At once. I can see that c in one is the reverse of one in a hundred -but where do we get at from?
Thanks

[bobbinwales]

1 sounds like a phrase???

[Toorak]

1 sounds like a phrase (a few words)

[Toorak]

2 a pass could be borderline rather than, say, an A or a B

[bobbinwales]

a hundred is A TON
Reverse (last) letter of thE is E???
But then you need the hundred again for C so maybe not

[Etch]

6 is TON (a hundred) in ACE (one)

[bobbinwales]

Forget my ton idea, your C in ONE is better

[bobbinwales]

Ok , Etch has it.

[Etch]

2 - 'bad situation' is probably referring to the phrase 'a pretty pass':
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/a-pretty-pass
To pass (final exams) = to graduate

[bobbinwales]

If your given a BA degree have you be BA'd?

[bobbinwales]

So graduating can be a BA'd situation

[Etch]

3 'Calamity Jane' is an accepted term meaning 'alarmist':
https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/another-word-for/alarmist.html
Presumably because CJ was always scaremongering.