cam magazine schadenfreude

[magistra]

totally stuck on 31 ac and 25 d. Any offers?

[Mamyalynne]

Is that the clue ? and how many letters are there

[Wilbo]

25d Could this be r(e)grade

[magistra]

Mamyalynne and Wilbo.
Unless you've got the crossword in front of you, I'm afraid giving you the clue and letters won't help. It's one of those weird puzzles where you have to omit 1 or more letters in the answer. However, the answer to 31ac is almost certainly an anagram of A BARE TREE, and the definition is a brown insect. 25d is 7 letters, beginning with R and with A or E, T and L ; the clue is " A grenadier legally limited after rank reduced"
Hope this helps!

[daagg]

I'm afraid it's even more complicated than magistra describes, because some of the clues also have an incorrect letter (hint, hint). 31ac is not an anagram of "a bare tree", although it does contain an anagram of part of this phrase. For 25dn, I suggest you look up the second word in Chambers, as it has some less well known meanings - the wordplay is pretty obscure for this one, and I think you are best off trying to match the definition first.

[magistra]

thank you, daag, for your helpful hints. I know about the incorrect letters in definitions, and I know which letter is to be substituted in these. {I've just had a eureka moment for 31 ac!}. I've already checked the other meanings for the 2nd word in 25 d, so will persevere.