Independent 9,378 / Serpent

AD (=bill, i.e. advert) + VENT (=express one’s frustration, as in to vent one’s spleen)

*(WAS) in HER (=this woman); “possibly” is anagram indicator

<b>ROGUE (=shoe); “beginning to get scratched” means first letter is dropped; the heel of the definition is a knave, cad, rogue

REIN (=means of controlling e.g. a horse) + STATE (=condition)

*(ASPS REAR THEN HOP); “making” is anagram indicator; Pharaoh’s serpent is the coiled ash of burning mercuric thiocyanate, an indoor firework; it is well worth looking at how this reaction gets its name on YouTube!

DODGE (=to dodge) + [IT in C<owboy countr>Y (“uninhabited” means all internal letters are dropped)]; & lit. -ish, the reference being to the 1939 western starring Errol Flynn

L.A. (=from Hollywood, i.e. Los Angeles) + PUP (=young boxer, i.e. breed of dog)]

Homophone (“announcement”) of “need (=poverty)”; the “joint” of the body referred to is the knee

NEAR (=by) in <f>INEST (=best; “not to start” means first letter dropped); the “really” serves only to reinforce the definition

SERPENT (=writer, i.e. of this puzzle) + [E<ffort> (“minimum of” means first letter only) in INVERSE (=transposed)]; serpentine verse begins and ends with the same word, from the figure of a snake with a tail in its mouth, common as a symbol of eternity

EX (=once) + TUBE (=underground system) + RAN (=operated); “with everything moving ahead of time (=T)” means letter “l” is pushed to the end

GR<oup> (“opening duo” means first two letters only) + AND (=accompanied by)

Hidden (“packages”) in “sPENT ADdressing”

HI (=greeting) + DING (=sound of bell)

GP (=doctor, i.e. general practitioner) in [DO (=party, function) + ADDLE (=turn, go off)]

*(VE<g>ETA<b>LE); “Great Britain (=GB)’s neglected” means letters “gb” are dropped from anagram, indicated by “cultivation of”

T (=temperature) + OR (=as an alternative to) + CH (=central heating)

*(S<ing> + HEARTILY); “beginning to” means first letter only; “when drunk” is anagram indicator

[S (=son) + T<alk> (“first to” means first letter only) + RE (=about, regarding)] in WAL (LAW; “regressive” indicates reversal); a prodigal, as a noun, is a wasteful person

<r>ELATE>d> (=connected); “with trimming of wings” means first and last letters are dropped

TRIP (=to take drugs) + OD (=lots of drugs, i.e. overdose); the “snap” of the definition refers to taking photographs

PEN (=writer) + TUP (PUT=(to) couch, i.e. express in a particular way; “returned” indicates reversal)

*(ACTOR) in [I’D + I’D (=I had; “to repeat” means it appears twice)]; an idiot card/board is a kind of autocue for performers

*(DEAN + PRIOR); “mixed up” is anagram indicator; the “fate” of the definition is a verb, as in “it was fated (to happen) / preordained …”

*(E (=ecstasy, i.e. the drug) + RISKS); “getting beaten” is anagram indicator; the “smack” of the definition is one on the lips!

DEE (=several rivers in Great Britain) + PEST (=scourge)

RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician) + V (=very) + AGED (=old)

END (=death) in TRY (=hear, i.e. a case in court); the “happening” of the definition is an adjective meaning trendy, fashionable

S<pade> (“tip” of means first letter only) in ROUÉ (=rake, cad)

NO <i>TCH (=without desire); “I left” means letter “i” is dropped