DOUBLE CROSSWORD

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 Tape broken by top performer not fighting (2,5)

4 Patchy while fighting? (7) 2 Punctuation the Spanish rank 8 There’s nothing in amusement higher than 14 (7) backed by fighting men (6) 3 Work into confused choice (6) 9 One of the 8 isn’t public (7) 5 He could take punishment - two 10 Foreign egghead gets stripe! (8)

101 to 10 backing (6) 6 Counsel to give publicity to bad 11 Otherwise 100 concealed flower habit (6)

(6) 7 Put soil up upside-down - it’s 12 Three points in transparent rotten! (6) detergent (8) 13 5 has another stripe in worsted 18 Again the envoy is to transfer to a material by worker (8) lower position (8) 14 He gives the orders aboard, but 20 Temporary 2, 5 or 14 on stage? he’s under 2 (7)

(6) 15 Look closely at length of life of 21 The name of the boy who won (6)the nobility (7)

22 Not particular, but superior to 16 In this disc he measures up to 2 (7) the plan (6)

23 Giving the sack - the work of an 17 Roman orator sent mineral up to arsonist? (6) commander-in-chief (6)

24 News of 23? (7) 19 Lie about team? Right - here’s the

remedy (6)

DOWN QUICK CLUES ACROSS

4 Sailor (7) 8 Withstand (6) 9 Silhouette (7) 10 Bend (6) 11 Body (6) 12 Exhume (8) 18 Injudiciously (8)

20 Passage (6) 21 Result (6) 22 Scorn (7) 23 Breeder (6) 24 Vindictiveness (7)

DOWN

1 Yield (7) 2 Weigh down (7)

3 Aft (6) 5 Propeller (8) 6 Tell (6)

7 Join up (6) 13 Reliant (8) 14 Free (7) 15 Enigma (7) 16 Writer (6) 17 Interfere (6) 19 Scared (2,4) We have found 64 words that can be made from the letters in the square, each of which uses the letter in the middle and contains at least four letters. We challenge you to beat this, and also to make at least one nine-letter word. No abbreviations, initials or foreign words unless they form words in everyday use. No plurals.

Good 42; very good 52; excellent 64.