The solved grid
1M
I
2D
I
3S
4S
A
5T
I
6R
I
7C
O
R
A
I
H
R
8D
R
O
L
L
9P
O
R
C
I
N
I
E
P
A
O
E
N
C
10M
O
P
E
D
11R
E
D
B
O
O
K
E
P
O
E
12T
13D
R
14A
G
O
N
F
L
15Y
T
E
P
I
A
16R
O
17A
C
H
E
S
18T
I
B
I
19A
M
P
E
E
U
B
R
20I
N
H
A
L
E
S
21N
E
E
D
S
T
I
I
E
R
O
22E
N
D
W
A
Y
S
23R
E
S
I
N
Across
1 Across Mid-length dresses hidden as a pyramid is crumbling (5) → MIDIS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “pyramid is”.
4 Across Mocking, when racist I is jumbled (7) → SATIRIC Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “RACIST I”.
8 Across Amusing, found in weird rollicking tale (5) → DROLL Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “weird rollicking”.
9 Across Photo and iron, mixed, form a prized Italian mushroom (7) → PORCINI Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “PIC IRON”.
10 Across Cleaner Ed built a small motorbike (5) → MOPED Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 2 letters long.
11 Across Endangered species list found where a mix-up occurred booking flights (3,4) → RED BOOK Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “occurred booking”.
13 Across Mythical beast, then a swift dash, forms a large winged insect (9) → DRAGONFLY Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 6 and 3 letters long.
16 Across Chaser mixed with zero reveals pests (7) → ROACHES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “CHASER O”.
18 Across Bait, I mangled, forms a leg bone (5) → TIBIA Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “BAIT I”.
20 Across Heals, in a muddle, breathes in (7) → INHALES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “HEALS IN”.
21 Across Requirements hidden as a tough guy kneed sailors (5) → NEEDS Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “kneed sailors”.
22 Across Finish followed by methods, lengthwise (7) → ENDWAYS Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 4 letters long.
23 Across Control strap grasping south yields tree sap (5) → RESIN Container
Put a 1-letter run inside a 4-letter word.
Down
1 Down Monk's title following me, reversed, becomes a network device (5) → MODEM Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “M”.
2 Down Fell, having spied without roof edges (7) → DROPPED Deletion
Remove 5 letters from the start of a longer word.
3 Down Sam and Larry ate dinner, initially, a healthy dish (5) → SALAD Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Sam, And, Larry, Ate, Dinner.
5 Down Fried to a crisp when mixed, quite fed up with (5,2) → TIRED OF Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “FRIED TO”.
6 Down Precious myrrh in orbit conceals a thick-skinned beast (5) → RHINO Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “myrrh in orbit”.
7 Down Neck spasm plus alien yields an outdoor game (7) → CRICKET Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 5 and 2 letters long.
9 Down Sea mammals - Rosie pops, all shaken (9) → PORPOISES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “Rosie pops”.
12 Down Insect ending a school period with the tail of graphite (7) → TERMITE Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 3 letters long.
14 Down Samoan capital trapping a Norse underworld goddess yields the sun's farthest points (7) → APHELIA Container
Put a 3-letter run inside a 4-letter word.
15 Down Gossips after swinging a sabre by accident (7) → YABBERS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “SABRE BY”.
17 Down Nematode's sensor minus a male reveals a plant pest (5) → APHID Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the middle of a longer word.
18 Down Tuning device, talented umpires never enforce rules initially (5) → TUNER Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Talented, Umpires, Never, Enforce, Rules.
19 Down Argon's symbol before a boy, meaning deliberate fire-raising (5) → ARSON Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 2 and 3 letters long.
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.
