I think I've got these from the definition, but I'm damned if I can parse either of them. Go down, not up initially - climb with difficulty (8) ???a?b?e Shortage of staff with cook leaving nursery (6)...
Thrower of tantrums, perhaps one that's ridden in 10 Queen Mary Stakes (3-4-3)
T?O-?E?R-???
(the answer to 10, as possibly referred to in the clue is ASCOTS)...
Its a Vlad, so I'm not going to waste brain cycles on trying to parse his clues! I'll ask here instead! So I've jammed in words that fit and have the feeling that most of them are correct, which is...
Entertaining literature, primarily, a deep source (5) M?L?E: Consume fruitcake with a bit of salad (4,3) P?N?,N?T; Having branches cut back to make room for using the net (3,6) P?N, ?I?E?R Cheers!...
Caught group in army base (4) C?R?
Retire, having left new regional capital (5) A?R?N
Transparent ornaments, say, in some minimalist American music? (9) G?A?E?O?K...
What cinema promotes is of some importance (7) A_A;
Light in Greece, not entirely great (7)__L_U_A;
Big comedown to dine with faux French speaker (9) A_A______...
Choice of brew after first love gets promoted (6) O-T___ Court calls solely for judges (4,6)F___/F_U_T Knackered, as Cook was before last Test innings (7,3) _T_P_E_/O_T This isn't my best morning....