THE CROSSWORD

PUZZLE 15128

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 Professionals get by - even flourish (7) 5 He may want to change roles with the winner (5)

8 They figure a great deal in population surveys (13)

9 Send money or return the watch (5) 10 Sketch the escape route? (7)

11 To attract a number break a rule (6) 12 Yet it isn’t the motorist’s top gear (6) 15 Caught young lady going round with a journalist (7)

17 Practical joke is quietly offensive (5) 19 Defeated by the elements? (7-6) 20 Dismal king in love (5) 21 Abandons wastelands (7)

Down

1 A hard question for one, a sitter for another (5)

2 Climbing a low hill but not to any great extent (2,1,5,5)

3 Dog taken in hand for teaching (7) 4 Moderation seen when lacking a fashion allowance (6)

5 It’s held by solicitors to be permissible (5) 6 Changing to steam trains? He should know (13)

7 Honour a relation (7)

11 Admitted everybody had debts (7) 13 Overburden journalists with work (7) 14 Loved to see the dreadnought wrecked (6) 16 This is an alternative to returning to her (5) 18 Rulers of the pack (5)

QUICK CLUES ACROSS

1 A deliberative assembly (7) 5 Complete (5) 8 Immeasurably small (13) 9 A cotton fabric (5) 10 Stare down (7) 11 Carpentry tool (6) 12 Rook in chess (6) 15 Melodious (7)

17 Unit of weight of gems (5) 19 Equal facility with either hand (13)

20 Velocity (5)

21 Military withdrawal (7)

DOWN

1 Sensation of cold (5) 2 Dated (13)

3 To grant (7) 4 Medicinal liquid for skin (6) 5 Overturn (5) 6 Repeatedly (4,5,4) 7 Raise siege of (7) 11 Curved one-edged sword (7) 13 Dating from distant past (7)

14 Panacea (6) 16 Washed out (5) 18 Rendezvous (5)