{ THE CROSSWORDS }
CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS
1 Tree level (5)
4 He has a taste for a bit of embroidery (7) 8 Use part of the dining area to advantage (3) 9 Analysis of a total failure (9)
10 Fastened by a thread (7)
11 Type of swede not cultivated by gardeners (5) 13 Oedema needs operations in dehydrated surroundings (6)
15 Circumvent with the aid of a permit (6)
18 It caters for the rest of the drivers and passengers (5)
19 Record suppressed by force (3-4)
21 Over and over it goes (5,4)
23 Current term for a politician (3)
24 Is in the way of progress (7)
25 Set up before going to Connecticut (5)
DOWN
1 Forced into service when one was short of time (7)
2 Right at the back, yet wanting the lion’s share (9)
3 The Spanish weapon involved in the movement of arms (5)
4 Stable companion? (6)
5 Give ground for road construction (4,3)
6 A man the French love (3)
7 Splits payments for accommodation (5)
12 In a way we are able to give further details (9) 14 Hurried to include a song that’s turned out (7) 16 A blemish on the most radiant of faces (7) 17 They usually lead to the quarry (6)
18 Plain clothes expert in Moslem law (5) 20 The name is right (5)
22 Knock taken by another (3)
QUICK CLUES ACROSS
1 Big band jazz (5) 4 Severe (7)
8 A tough, hard wood (3) 9 Without help (2,4,3) 10 Eternal (7)
11 Extreme pain (5) 13 Altitude (6) 15 A double-breasted jacket (6) 18 Vision (5)
19 Hard to accomplish (7) 21 Incorrectly aligned (3,2,4) 23 Strange (3) 24 Punishment (7)
25 To fuse (5)
DOWN
1 Put up with (7) 2 Of a piece (2,7) 3 The earth (5) 4 Somnolent (6) 5 Ordinary (7) 6 Moreover (3) 7 Shrewd (5) 12 Feeling out of sorts (3,6) 14 Odious (7) 16 What is left (7) 17 Moderately (6) 18 Pry (5) 20 A vain hope (5) 22 Soft white metal (3)