Independent 12,008 / Mog

<l>AWFUL (=just, legal); “almost from the start” means first letter is dropped

*(IS IT A CHOP); “stewing” is anagram indicator

E<x>TERNAL (=outside); “having social media app (=X, formally Twitter) deleted” means letter “x” is dropped; eternal is “going on”, everlasting

A<xminste>R (“outskirts” means first and last letters only) + SENAL (LANES=roads; “backed up” indicates reversal); Arsenal is a Premier League football team, hence “side”

[TIT (=fool, nitwit) in DENY (=RENOUNCE, REJECT)] in [I (=paper) + THE FT (=paper)]; identity is a problem on the internet, hence is an “online issue”

E.G. (=say, for example) + AD (=what gets publicity, i.e. advert); an egad is a mild oath, hence “I say!”

Homophone (“misheard”) of “(a) buck (=dollar) an ear (=the price of piercings in the US?)”!

EA (=each) in [EPIC (=impressive, imposing) + URN (=server, for tea)]

WHA<m!> (=George Michael group, i.e. UK pop group, formed in 1980s; “cropped” means last letter is dropped) + T (=tee, i.e. the letter “t”)

CON (=criminal, i.e. prisoner) + *(CERTAIN NOT); “to reform” is anagram indicate

PIE (=pasty) + ROGI (IGOR=Russian prince, as in the opera by Borodin; “repelled” is anagram indicator); in Polish cuisine, pierogi are semicircular filled dumplings

I MA<k>E; “king’s (=K, in cards and chess) out for drink (=gin)” means letter “k” is replaced by “gin”

*(TOUR CHOSE); “in error” is anagram indicator; a court shoe is a low-cut ladies’ shoe without straps or laces

AVER (=swear, avow) + T<raffic> (“bit of” means first letter only); to head off a disaster is to avert it, ward it off

<r>AMEN (=noodles, from Japan); “topped” means first letter is dropped; amen is an expression of assent, hence “agreed”

ARIA (=opera content) in *(NETFLIX); “hassled” is anagram indicator; a flexitarian has a mainly vegetarian diet but occasionally eats meat

Hidden (“from”) in “chiL IN GERman”

PAL (=friend) + AT (=engaged in, busy with, as in at work) + ABLE (=fit)

Double definition: as a verb, to smart is to “sting”, i.e. cause pain AND as an adjective, smart means trendy, “en vogue”

*(INSALATA); “spin on” is anagram indicator; an Alsatian is French, i.e. someone from Alsace

HE (=pronoun, in grammar) + N (=new, as in NT)

O (=old, as in OT) + B (=book) + LITERATE (=reading, i.e. able to read)

ELEP (PELÉ=football legend, from Brazil; “turned” indicates reversal) + HA (=funny, as exclamation) + *(IN NET); “tangled” is anagram indicator

[L<ouch>E (“extremely” means first and last letters only) in TESCO (=grocery chain)] + PIC (=image, i.e. picture); e.g. a telescopic lens is one that is capable of retraction, hence “collapsing”

CAN (=tin) + [AB (=sailor, i.e. able-bodied seaman) in TILE (=hat, colloquially)]; in music, cantabile means flowing and melodious, like singing

ÜBER (=over in Bundesliga, i.e. the German word for over, above) in COOT (=winger, i.e. bird); in mathematics, 2 is the cube root of 8

J<a>I<l> C<r>A<b> M<e>A<t>; “oddly seen” means odd letters only are used; a jícama is a kind of turnip used in Mexican cooking

<accep>T (“last to” means last letter only) + HIGH (=pickled, i.e. drunk); a ham is the thigh of an animal, especially of a pig salted and dried

Double definition: as a noun, felt is a type of soft fabric, hence “material” AND as a verb, felt is “was touching”, handling

<l>EMU<r> (=primate, from Madagascar); “shedding its exterior” means first and last letters are dropped; as a bird, an emu is a “layer” of eggs!