Well, I got them all right, thanks to Jasdip's 'sad' hint. I'd been trying to make it more complicated than it was, as usual. The hints about prepositions confused me even more. But it's really fun when the lightbulb finally lights up! Even when it makes me feel like a real dunce for not getting it quicker. Rusty

As a kid growing up, I loved everything that had anything to do with cowboys, horses, westerns, etc., and Gene Autry was second only to Roy Rogers on my hero list. So the song 'The Last Roundup' came easy to me. And it's been going through my mind ever since I opened this puzzle Sunday. I had thought of 'Circular reasoning' for 3A but didn't think that would be a thing, so didn't put it on my list. So I missed a total of 7. And the one I am kicking myself about is C6. Not once did I realize that was the letter J! 'Walking backwards' was the best I came up with for that one. SMH. This was a real brain work out! But a fun one. Rusty

I had ”failure”! I am kicking myself for not getting headquarters. Cocktail (cock tale) I would not have gotten that. I waa concentrating on the physical nature of the book, not what it contained. And if the cat hadn’t been hanging out in DH’s office all day (we call him the loyal dog), I might have gotten Summary, but maybe not. Oh, and I was thinking ”greenhouse”, or ”ivy-covered house”. I think they both work, so I’ll give myself full credit because who is going to stop me?

I was too focused on teeth and not gums also, so my iffy guess was dentistry (tree); After Jasdip’s hint, I initially thought it was stun gun, hence my comment on the missing letter (t), but then figured it out. I think the funky looking letters might be them melting from the heat of the sun. Got the rest. Thanks, Jasdip - these were fun! OP, a fly kick is a martial arts move.