Independent 9,604 / Crosophile

COCK (=bloke; “familiar” means colloquial) + NEY (YEN=longing; “to return” indicates reversal); a Cockney might well have featured in the soap EastEnders, set in London’s East End

R (=right) + H (=height) + Y (=yes) + MING (=China, i.e. entry at 1D); the two halves of this clue form a rhyming couplet!

<w>ILL (“knocked off early with (=W)” means initial letter “w” is dropped) + A TEASE (=rib, kid)

<ar>RIVAL (=coming); “with A + R<ight> for knockout” means letters “A + R” are dropped; “match” in the definition is a verb, to compete with

A + MO (=procedure, modus operandi) + U (=united, as in Man U) + R (=Romeo, in radio telecommunications)

*(SALT) + STRAW (WARTS=verrucas; “around” indicates reversal); “that does it!” is another way of saying “that’s the last straw!”

Cryptic definition: there is a Chance? -square directly opposite Euston Road on a Monopoly board

[A + RAKE (=libertine)] in PET (=caress)

Double definition: excising is “making cuts” surgically to remove something AND levying (relieving??) excise duty on goods

S<avings> (“a bit of” means first letter only) + TITCH (=little guy)

*(THIS ALONE); “might be” is anagram indicator

R<acial> O<r> O<ther> T<raditional> S<ystems>; “origins of” means first letters only; “origins” does double duty as definition

Homophone (“say”) of Nice (=French city)

AT A TON (=very fast) in CIA (=intelligence, i.e. Central Intelligence Agency)

SCAR (=a mark) + PER (=for every)

*(E.G. GENTS); “if going round the bend” is anagram indicator

IN in CHA (=tea)

O (=love, i.e. zero score in tennis) in CALL US (=give us a ring)

If the letters “g” (=good) and “l” (=line) are dropped from “not <gl>orious“, “notorious” is left, for which the clue is & lit.

<ma>Y (“end of” means last letter only) + EARLY (=soon)

*(HERO’S) + TAT (=rubbish); “flawed” is anagram indicator; a rheostat is an instrument for varying an electric resistance

Double definition: animals can be kept in yards AND yards are imperial measures equal to three feet

Something that is rhyming is “in verse”

OR (=gold) + WATCH (=take a look at); an Albert is a type of watch chain

*(AS + N (=new) + TELEPH<one>); “after one‘s cut off” means letters “one” are dropped; “is vandalised” is anagram indicator; cryptically, trumpeting elephants are making “trunk calls”, i.e. using their trunks to call to each other!

ART (=e.g. canvas) + *(THIS RI<p>); “almost” means last letter dropped from anagram, indicated by “repaired”

C (=caught, on cricket scorecard) in [EN (=small space, in printing) + FOR (=in place of) + ER (=Queen, i.e. Elizabeth Regina)]

CHIME (=ring, of bells) + RA (=artist, i.e. Royal Academician)

Letters of ON (=concerning, about) are slotted individually (“split”) into TRUCE (=peace pact)

SEX (=it, as in to do it) + TON (NOT; “over” indicates reversal)

E (=Spain, in IVR) in STEP (=part of flight, i.e. of stairs)

Hidden (“a bit of”) in “artlesS LANGuage”; & lit.