THE CROSSWORDS

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 A metal ring damaged in the harness (10)

8 Clean break or cut (5)

9 One who has a strong hand

in clubs? (7)

10 Half-a-dozen found a place

and stayed (7)

11 Exhausted, as a wrestler may

be (3-2)

12 In pain father is brave (6) 14 One’s occupation may require this regular payment (6)

17 Woman of fifty-one had

become unsettled (5)

19 Mail awaiting dispatch to a

colonial settlement (7) 21 Round figures? (7)

22 Quick way to dry a step (5) 23 Entertaining form of

tapestries (10)

DOWN

2 A name is confused - result

of this? (7)

3 Buy one a drink for medicinal

purposes (5)

4 No society for a nonentity (6)

5 Lavish praise (7)

6 Make an excellent start, and

do even better (5)

7 He explains what is foreign

to us (10)

8 More than one very big ship

in the naval order (10)

13 Get the news about the

plant (7)

15 Hard workers, the sort to come up about one month (7)

16 An even chance the matador

will try to avoid (4-2) 18 Poor soul I make King of

France (5)

20 A test devised for

flavour (5)

QUICK CLUES ACROSS

1 Foolish (4-6)

8 Discourage (5)

9 Legendary Rhine siren (7) 10 Indefinitely large number (7) 11 Due (5)

12 Non-expert person (6) 14 Leisurely walk (6)

17 Short broad-headed nails (5) 19 A shellfish (7)

21 Middle East country (7) 22 British soldier (5)

23 Even so (3,3,4)

DOWN

2 Post-mortem examination (7) 3 Violence (5)

4 Away from the coast (6) 5 Switch off (4,3)

6 Indian city (5)

7 Notably (10)

8 Empty ambiguous words (6,4) 13 Store of weapons (7)

15 Best (7)

16 Settle conclusively (6) 18 Venomous snake (5)

20 Firing range (5)