Paper.. The BIG Saturday Crossword

Cryptic clues

Across

1. Possessive female (12) 7. Its size can vary to some degree (5) 8. Said to be one connected to the hub (5) 9 & 17Ac. The French toady is released (3,3) 10. Directors on board (9) 11. Take flight from Scottish capital in peace, maybe (6) 12. It’s flimsy, but its use is varied (6) 15. Student of life is too glib, in a way (9) 17. See 9 Across 18. Joint cooked by the right oven (5) 19. A piece of cloth for a cuff (5) 21. Unusual fellows in extra-terrestrial alienation (12)

Down

1. Do they supply refreshment side by side in the gymnasium? (8,4) 2. A bit of tattered costume for the carnival (3) 3. Smoothed out the day before coming to a bad end (6) 4. Coach the others

without forbearance (9) 5. One cut off by bad weather is bound to be this! (5) 6. Ten men strive to produce a second nest egg (12) 7. Grotesque piece of

romanticism (5) 10. Football fan to drink

strong ale (9) 13. Brief electrical fault

(5) 14. Metal is able to be used for this container (3,3) 16. Friend surrounded by

outsize jewels (5) 20. Lyrical piece was outstanding, we hear (3)

Down

1. Pictorial (12) 2. Pin (3) 3. Considerate (6) 4. Experimental (9) 5. Claw (5) 6. Opening (12) 7. Water vapour (5) 10. Wooing (9) 13. Braid (5) 14. Sudden (6) 16. Purple (5) 20. Ocean (3)