the crosswords

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 Sort of a stew left over? (5) 4 The silver is twice as celebrated as the golden one (7) 8 Drink and possibly eat (3) 9 Gives up an office from a basic date (9) 10 He should be fit to revise the tale (7) 11 Smooth plane (5) 13 One eats it as a matter of course (6) 15 Compiling a programme takes time and trouble (6) 18 Wrongly I am in some way extremely suspicious (5) 19 A revolution is starting (7) 21 Man to speak to for capital investment (9) 23 Champion of the pack (3) 24 Conscientious objection of little weight (7) 25 Row upon row of drawers? (5)

DOWN

1 The strength of the current? (7) 2 The revolutionary fork-lift? (9) 3 A way to get out of the Geneva Declaration (5) 4 Tries part of the Bible (6) 5 Combination lock in case it is left undone (7) 6 The whole or just part of a sale (3) 7 Kind of support a painter may need (5) 12 Point out to five how to make good (9) 14 Relaxed in the deep USA perhaps (5,2) 16 Sportsmen seen at the bank (7) 17 The people superior to me in the flower show (6) 18 Remains after a fiery departure (5) 20 Small picture I sent out (5) 22 Some manner of music (3)

QUICK CLUES ACROSS

1 Venomous African snake (5) 4 Disorderly rout (7) 8 Express publicly (3) 9 Person as subject in experiment (6,3) 10 Receive by legacy (7) 11 Four-wheeled goods vehicle (5) 13 Sand and small stones mixture (6) 15 Obtain by coercion (6) 18 Mix well together (5) 19 Arrogance (7) 21 Fall guy (9) 23 Moreover (3) 24 Meet the needs of (7) 25 Drive back (5)

DOWN

1 Significance (7) 2 Alice in Wonderland character (5,4) 3 Tool for boring holes (5) 4 Delicately pretty (6) 5 A polish for wood (7) 6 Surpass (3) 7 Incite to action (3,2) 12 Stiff-kneed marching style (5,4) 14 Incessant (7) 16 Extreme confusion (7) 17 Fastidious (6) 18 Bedrock (5) 20 Out-and-out (5) 22 To function (3)

PUZZLE 14531