the crossword

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 A responsible person (7) 5 Badly cared for timber (5) 8 Vice has fallen as a result of suppression (9) 9 Gift list (3) 10 Sailor to be a French priest (4) 12 Main line terminals? (8) 14 Sign for the thesaurus he’s left (6) 15 Note more money for cook (6) 17 Confuse by suggesting that one should be less calm (8) 18 Drove in another direction (4) 21 Plant served as a meal (3) 22 Death by shooting can mean prosecution (9) 24 Polar ice seen around the East relatively speaking (5) 25 Climb down (7)

DOWN

1 Two senior officers taking a drink (5) 2 Spring is short in the meadow (3) 3 Transported in a trap perhaps (4) 4 A mason knows how it spreads (6) 5 Scheme for church to contain prison outbreak (8) 6 Resolve to discourage an excavation (9) 7 So ‘Tripe!’ is silly retort (7) 11 The world’s greatest swimmer (4,5) 13 Sweet dog Bill Sikes owned (5-3) 14 Any bite upsets the foreigner (7) 16 A story for example viewed in advance (6) 19 Having eaten a meal I’d end a different shape (5) 20 Such men are said to make an appearance (4) 23 Diamonds in the underworld (3)

QUICK CLUES ACROSS

1 Overturn (7) 5 Furnishings and colour scheme (5) 8 Relaxed in manner (4-5) 9 Young of bear, lion etc. (3) 10 Hurl small missiles at (4) 12 On balance (3,2,3) 14 Agree to do (4,2) 15 Title of Spanish married woman (6) 17 Without any loss of force (8) 18 An iridescent gemstone (4) 21 A play on words (3) 22 Well-informed (2,3,4) 24 Small-minded (5) 25 Fugitive (7)

DOWN

1 Soak in liquid (5) 2 Passenger vehicle (3) 3 Sharp side of blade (4) 4 Treat frivolously (6) 5 Utterly exhausted (3-5) 6 Exultant (4-1-4) 7 German measles (7) 11 Probably (4,2,3) 13 Neighbourhood (8) 14 Invent falsely (5,2) 16 A trusted adviser (6) 19 Humble (5) 20 To incline (4) 23 Fresh (3)