The solved grid
1S
P
2I
D
3E
R
4W
E
5B
6R
I
7D
O
N
A
A
A
I
O
8N
E
V
E
R
9S
A
R
C
A
S
M
I
E
C
A
10C
A
R
O
11B
12T
H
A
L
13A
M
I
S
R
R
R
C
N
14A
M
I
15A
M
I
G
O
16O
M
S
R
O
Z
T
L
U
17T
I
N
L
I
K
E
18E
S
S
E
19S
I
L
T
Y
20S
T
21A
U
N
C
22H
23R
E
I
G
N
T
L
U
E
O
C
C
24E
W
E
25T
Y
P
E
C
A
S
T
S
Across
1 Across Eight-legged creature's network is an insect trap (9) → SPIDERWEB Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 6 and 3 letters long.
6 Across Headless lattice leaves one free (3) → RID Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the start of a longer word.
8 Across Verne novels rearranged, at no time (5) → NEVER Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “verne”.
9 Across Biting wit revealed after mass car crashed (7) → SARCASM Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “mass car”.
10 Across Broca's area scrambled produces chocolate substitute (5) → CAROB Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “broca”.
12 Across Alma's hit song rearranged reveals brain regions (7) → THALAMI Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “alma hit”.
14 Across A friend sings a high note (3) → AMI Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 2 letters long.
15 Across French friend departs, becoming a Spanish pal (5) → AMIGO Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 2 letters long.
16 Across Nought before a manuscript gives meditative sounds (3) → OMS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 2 letters long.
17 Across Resembling tin, kiln tie rearranged oddly (7) → TINLIKE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “kiln tie”.
18 Across Some of the caresses form snake-like curves (5) → ESSES Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “caresses”.
20 Across Loyal, and thoroughly watertight (7) → STAUNCH Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
23 Across Rule achieved by a horse's strap gripping gravity (5) → REIGN Container
Put a 1-letter run inside a 4-letter word.
24 Across Female sheep sounds like you (3) → EWE Homophone
The answer sounds like “you”.
25 Across Casting agents, lacking an emergency room, stereotype performers (9) → TYPECASTS Deletion
Remove 2 letters from the middle of a longer word.
Down
1 Down Strange old nun ignored cats, initially, when describing sound waves (5) → SONIC Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Strange, Old, Nun, Ignored, Cats.
2 Down Turnabout produced by reshaped iron veins (9) → INVERSION Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “iron veins”.
3 Down Organ of hearing or spike of grain (3) → EAR Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
4 Down Some of the wasabi seasoning existed once (3) → WAS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “wasabi”.
5 Down A coal barer, oddly, sings this Venetian boat song (9) → BARCAROLE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “coal barer”.
6 Down Inlet hidden in material (3) → RIA Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “material”.
7 Down Territories controlled by acting on the power supply (7) → DOMAINS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 5 letters long.
11 Down Disturbed, brutal zin turns into this rich kernel (6,3) → BRAZIL NUT Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “brutal zin”.
12 Down Titre rearranged is hackneyed (5) → TRITE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “titre”.
13 Down Cacti and sous chef rearranged reveal sound qualities (9) → ACOUSTICS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “cacti sous”.
14 Down Performer hidden in part is terrific (7) → ARTISTE Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “part is terrific”.
19 Down Coordinates, as kitchen basins might, we hear (5) → SYNCS Homophone
The answer sounds like “sinks”.
21 Down Frothy brew found in whale (3) → ALE Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “whale”.
22 Down Hydrogen and a record combine to seem hip (3) → HEP Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 2 letters long.
23 Down Mythical bird found in sailor October's log (3) → ROC Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “sailor October”.
How this puzzle was checked
Every clue in this crossword was verified against its own wordplay by
software, then the finished puzzle was read and edited by hand before
publication: definitions, indicators, enumerations and surface readings
all get looked at, and clues that don't hold up are rewritten. The
editorial standards set out what that
covers.
Spotted something wrong here? Email
badclues@decryptic.app and
this page will be corrected. See the
corrections policy.
