a cryptic beehive

Question

Each numbered clue clues a six-letter answer to be entered consecutively (i.e., either clockwise or counterclockwise) in the six squares around the square so numbered.

1. Perhaps a laborist and others return flattened (6)
2. Apply heart of hellebore to make venom? (6)
3. Small bird's leg is folded into scarf, maybe (6)
4. Return mulligan stew, primarily for entertainment leader: Eric Heiden, e.g. (6)
5. Vocalic-onset burst is a sort of blend (6)
6. Southeastern corner of a church is for sailors (6)
7. Gold standard: almost McKinley's last effort at keeping peace while being ready for a fight (6)
8. Stress about… about a small amount of money (6)
9. Auditor's guarantee for an edge rate? (6)
10. Promotions exec shows excellent thinking. Advertising heads: "ESP?" (6)
11. Pauline, place the main part of your foot (6)
12. Humorist gets joke's punch line — that's huge (6)
13. Relations initially noisy, rather than quiet, in minuets, e.g. (6)
14. Analyzes coda of "Cuts! Cuts! Cuts!" (6)
15. Igneous rock that offends rodents (6)
16. A sort of bigotry based on blurry images (6)
17. Itty bitty things, glasses on my ears (6)
18. A Xen command backs up a book of the Bible? (6)
19. Ramona Milano's part-French, my friend (3,3)
20. Shake sock, e.g., for lizards (6)
21. Hex cesspool with overflow (6)
22. Pampers. For bodily fluids. (6)
23. West Side Story groups have Krupke end a major rift (6)
24. Saskatchewan?? Sooner a suburb of Chicago (6)
25. Freight vehicle: 0–90 in 750 millimeters (6)

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_{Thanks to Deusovi for technical assistance.}

Answer 1

The completed grid:

Explanations:

1. OBLATE (OB + ETAL<)
2. MALICE (MALIC ("apple-y"!!) + (-hell)E(-bore))
3. EAGLET (LEG* in EAT)
4. SKATER (RETAKE< with S(-tew) in place of E(-ntertainment))
5. CALICO (substring)
6. SEAMEN (SE + AMEN)
7. KARATE (KARAT + second-last letter of MCKINLEY; not 100% convinced by the def)
8. ACCENT (CA< + CENT)
9. COSINE (homophone of CO-SIGN though I'm not quite sure why "an edge rate"; something to do with ratio of sides in a triangle??)
10. PESETA (initial letters; ESP is abbr for that currency)
11. TARSUS (double def; ignore the comma)
12. COSMIC (COMIC gets (-joke)S)
13. NIECES (PIECES with P replaced by N(-oisy))
14. PARSES ((-cut)S cuts PARES)
15. PUMICE (PU + MICE)
16. AGEISM (IMAGES*)
17. SPECKS (homophone of SPECS)
18. EXODUS (EX + SUDO< though I don't understand the first part)
19. MON AMI (substring)
20. GECKOS (SOCKEG*)
21. EXCESS (substring)
22. HUMORS (double def)
23. GANGES (GANGS containing (-krupk)E)
24. SKOKIE (SK + OKIE)
25. BOXCAR (O XC in BAR)

Confession:

I didn't figure out #2; msh210 kindly explained it in comments.