{ 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)