Local PAper Crossword

[sellotape59]

Any help on these last two appreciated
Remove coarseness, move hothead away (4) S?F?
soft ??? why?

Matchmaker suffering without HRT before miday (3,4)
I have A?K/?M?A and other answers seem right
Many thanks

[kettledrum]

sift - s(h)ift

[kettledrum]

ack emma

[sellotape59]

Many thanks indeed
Never come across ack emma but knew it really had to be the leftover letters from matchmaker

[kettledrum]

old-fashioned army(?) signallers' slang for a.m. pip emma for p.m.

[enigma28]

it's "sift" ("shift" with "h" removed)

[dundurn]

It's Signals code from the time of WW1 - so ack ack = AA = anti aircraft, PM was Pip Emma, a despatch rider = DR was usually referred to as a Don R and Talbot House the charity started near Ypres in WW1 was ( and still is) called Toc H - there must be a full list somewhere but because it was superseded by systems such as Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog (US) and Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta (International) it's largely forgotten apart from crosswords and Lord Peter Wimsey novels.

[kettledrum]

Thanks for the full explanation, Dundurn. It's nice to have my memory refreshed!