The solved grid
1O
U
2T
S
3M
A
4R
T
5I
N
6G
7S
P
H
U
A
N
R
C
8E
V
I
L
S
9M
A
F
I
O
S
O
N
N
E
E
O
R
10I
R
K
E
D
11B
I
R
D
M
A
N
N
A
N
E
G
12T
H
13R
E
S
H
O
L
D
14G
H
O
T
E
15P
R
E
L
U
D
E
16M
E
17S
O
N
U
C
B
A
P
E
18D
A
R
K
L
E
19S
20C
H
I
N
S
G
O
E
U
O
T
I
Y
21W
E
S
T
E
R
N
I
Z
E
S
Across
1 Across Wild mating tours amount to outwitting (11) → OUTSMARTING Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “mating tours”.
8 Across Wrongdoings from six enclosed by golfer Els (5) → EVILS Container
Put a 2-letter run inside a 3-letter word.
9 Across Sofa moi, rearranged, is a gangster (7) → MAFIOSO Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “sofa moi”.
10 Across Annoyed, having evaded duty minus any quiet (5) → IRKED Deletion
Remove 2 letters from the start of a longer word.
11 Across Aviator emerges from sodium, doctor and rib, sent back (7) → BIRDMAN Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “B”.
12 Across Grain-beating veteran stands at the doorway's edge (9) → THRESHOLD Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 6 and 3 letters long.
15 Across Per duel, arranged as a musical introduction (7) → PRELUDE Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “per duel”.
16 Across Many elephants sometimes overturn nests initially, a subatomic particle (5) → MESON Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Many, elephants, sometimes, overturn, nests.
18 Across Right, having wildly slaked thirst, turns gloomy (7) → DARKLES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “slaked R”.
20 Across Sin turned Swiss, scrambled, shows jaw tips (5) → CHINS Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “sin ch”.
21 Across New zests, ire scrambled, occidentalizes (11) → WESTERNIZES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “new zests ire”.
Down
1 Down A chance, or a narrow gap (7) → OPENING Double definition
Look for two different meanings of the same word.
2 Down Slender, joined by a thousand, one might suppose (5) → THINK Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 4 and 1 letters long.
3 Down Pondered, as found in an old album used previously (5) → MUSED Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “album used”.
4 Down Crash into a stain, reversed (3) → RAM Reversal
Reverse a run of letters to build the answer, which begins with “R”.
5 Down Blaze concealed in a robin fern oil spill (7) → INFERNO Hidden word
The answer is hidden inside “robin fern oil”.
6 Down Primed, lodged together following gravity (7) → GROOMED Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 1 and 6 letters long.
7 Down Contempt from tin surrounding the Latin word for heart (5) → SCORN Container
Put a 3-letter run inside a 2-letter word.
11 Down Moisten meat, curtailing Egyptian cat goddess (5) → BASTE Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the end of a longer word.
12 Down We torch a barn, mixed up - 1994 cult revenge film (3,4) → THE CROW Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “we torch”.
13 Down Blues or muddled, Russian currency (7) → ROUBLES Anagram
Rearrange the letters of “BLUES OR”.
14 Down Origin, heredity units holding a scientific unit system (7) → GENESIS Container
Put a 2-letter run inside a 5-letter word.
15 Down Dessert topped with a dose of radiation looks plump (5) → PUDGY Charade
Join two pieces end to end, 3 and 2 letters long.
16 Down Burgundy wine from a gutted lunar mass concentration (5) → MACON Deletion
Remove 1 letter from the middle of a longer word.
17 Down Sleek puppies in training zone initially, a fluffy dog breed (5) → SPITZ Initialism
Take the first letter of each: Sleek, puppies, in, training, zone.
19 Down Take legal action against a Sioux, we hear (3) → SUE Homophone
The answer sounds like “Sioux”.
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.
