[17a] mafia leader to be better than nothing.[4] ?A?O. [21a] more than proper to get caught in battle of sexes. [6] ???E??. [7d] bird values wooden spoons [two words] [11] B?U?Y???Z??. [16d] remove peacekeepers difficulty. [5] U?F???.
Hi - I see the reasoning for Excess, "more than" but I thought Prudent ties in with "proper = prude" in the clue. I don't have the crossword so will be guide by those respondents who do!