QUICK CLUES

ACROSS

1 Conductor’s stage (7) 5 Deadly hooded snake (5) 8 Phases (5) 9 Guttural (7) 10 Blaze barrier? (4,4) 11 Chances, probability (4) 13 Room for manoeuvre (6) 15 50th wedding anniversary (6) 18 Ooze (water) (4) 19 Ordered cycle (8) 22 Extreme greed (7) 23 Smithy’s block (5) 24 Tiny spot (5) 25 Frame for climbing plants (7)

DOWN

1 Calming (7) 2 See-through (material) (5) 3 Unused, surplus (8) 4 Space rock (6) 5 Irish county (4) 6 Having facial hair (7) 7 Bottomless pit (5) 12 Common folk (8) 14 Arab leader’s domain (7) 16 Knitting pins (7) 17 Warm up again (6) 18 Snow White’s little helper (5) 20 Of sailors, marine (5) 21 Loop in a chain (4)