{ THE CROSSWORDS }
CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS
1 Band leader waves at customers (11)
9 Screen has red centre and unusual rose edging (7)
10 Stray around in the woods perhaps (5)
11 A unit in the Salvation Army East of Suez (4)
12 Makes a shambles of a Schubert variation (8)
14 Points to one of several contemporary children as being bright (6)
16 Squirm and turn whiter (6)
18 Things one eats or wastes (8)
19 Tail cut to a point (4)
22 Alert for a change in the future (5)
23 I adopt a Latin form of language (7) 24 A direct route provided immediately (11)
DOWN
2 Choice of two keys I found in the kennel (5) 3 Prepare for take-off? (4)
4 Sound cover for some old entertainment (6) 5 It helps if you require a frame up (4,4)
6 Beg for an adjustment in net rate (7)
7 Lets one down lightly (6,1,4)
8 Looking for golden opportunities? (11)
13 I go after the winner with a very long ruler (8)
15 Five players still not inwardly disheartened (7)
17 Intentionally exasperating? (6)
20 Feature on a foreign land (5)
21 The ultimate in salt shakers (4)
QUICK CLUES ACROSS
1 Continually (2,5,4) 9 Petulant outburst (7) 10 Killed (5) 11 Declare positively (4) 12 Glue (8) 14 Opening move (6) 16 A spice (6) 18 Showy but worthless (8) 19 Wife of Jupiter (4) 22 Give as a share (5) 23 Lower price of (7) 24 Honestly (2,3,6)
DOWN
2 Strained (5) 3 A part of speech (4) 4 Rectify (6) 5 Aesthetically pleasing (8) 6 Truth to nature in art (7) 7 Comedian’s stooge (8,3) 8 Subterranean (11) 13 Finish off (8) 15 Tearfully sentimental (7) 17 Noisy quarrel (6) 20 Superior (5) 21 South American country (4)