Independent 11,072 / Phi

PUT (=place, position) + ATIVE (EVITA=musical, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice; “brought back” indicates reversal)

UNI (=place of study, i.e. university) + QU<it>E (=rather; “lacking it” means letters “it” are dropped)

S (=small, of sizes) + KID (=child)

[IT (=special quality) + HE (=that man)] in [ANTS (=soldiers) + IS]

POLISH (=European language) + UPON (=in a superior position)

P (=power, in physics) + OUT (=no longer connected)

R (=river) in BIT (=took the bait); a brit is a small herring or sprat

PI (=detective, i.e. private investigator) in *(ORGAN AND); “dodgy” is anagram indicator

Homophone (“on the radio”) of “rued (=expressed regret)”

<w>OMEN (=about half the population); “wants leader ousted” means first letter is dropped

[NOW (=currently) + P<roblem> (“heading for” means first letter only)] in SLOUGH (=Berkshire town)

[TIP (=recommend) + ODE (=poem)] in AN AN (=pair of articles, i.e. x2)

RM (=member of a military force, i.e. a Royal Marine, in the Royal Navy) in [A + Y (=year, on a calendar)]

ST (=street) in BIRO (=writer, i.e. writing implement)

I’M + PRO (=in support) + P<i>ER (=support; “I disregarded” means letter “i” is dropped)

<l>UCK (=chance; “to miss opening” means first letter is dropped) in COO (=one bird’s call, i.e. a dove’s)

R (=runs, in cricket) in *(THE BANDIT); “nasty” is anagram indicator

AID (=relief) + A; aida is a finely-meshed cotton fabric used for cross-stitch embroidery

L (=litre) in MET (=satisfied, e.g. conditions); melt as a noun is molten material, hence “watery stuff”

BUTT (=ridiculous figure, i.e. the butt of a joke) + [E (=English) in *(POUND)]; “failing” is anagram indicator; buttoned-up is uncommunicative, tight-lipped

E (=energy) + IRE (=passion)

RU (=contact sport, i.e. rugby union) + [CU (=copper, i.e. chemical symbol) in BIND (=difficult, snag)]

H (=Henry, in royal names) + *(GOING + BOSS); “off” is anagram indicator; Higgs boson is an elementary particle in physics, finally discovered in 2012

COL (=pass, i.e. between mountains) in <o>PERATOR (=worker; “heading off” means first letter is dropped)

Cryptically, a “Roman tic” could be the particular habit of certain Italians!

Double definition: a gimlet is a small hand tool for boring holes, hence a “bore” AND a cocktail made of gin or vodka with lime-juice, hence something a mixologist (=a maker of cocktails) has to deal with

INT<r>O (=first item, e.g. in a book); “missing fourth item” means the fourth of five letters is dropped

PI (=irrational figure, in maths, i.e. one that cannot be expressed by a simple fraction) in EC (=the City, of London)

OPEN (=holding nothing back, upfront); “putting name (=N) forward” means letter “n” moves to earlier in the word