ACROSS QUICK

1 Speak indistinctly (6) 4 Deadlock, stalemate (8) 10 Intervene between parties to reconcile differences (7)

11 Aggressor, encroacher (7) 12 Leave out (4)

13 Coercive, forceful (6-3) 16 In an unsporting manner (8)

17 Horse in endurance races (6)

19 Shamelessly bold (6) 21 Hawaiian capital (8) 24 Distasteful (9)

25 Hospital wing (4) 28 Mineral in bones and teeth (7)

29 Hotchpotch, mishmash (7)

30 Noncommissioned officer (8)

31 Sharp high-pitched sound (6)

DOWN

1 Meaningless ritual or incantation (5,5)

2 Part of the body between waist and chest (7)

3 Rich soil (4)

5 Make clothes (6)

6 Pilotage (10)

7 Hospital attendant (7) 8 Sack, discharge (4) 9 Fecund (7)

14 Become freer or more tolerant (10)

15 Preparatory undertakings (10)

18 Appal (7)

20 Shaped like a ring (7) 22 Oblivious (7)

23 Ordinary, standard (6) 26 Divisions of a play (4) 27 Present-day Mesopotamia (4)