The solved grid
1B
L
2O
C
3K
E
D
4Y
I
5E
L
6D
E
M
H
A
I
I
7S
P
I
R
A
E
8A
9W
A
G
E
R
T
C
K
G
N
H
E
10B
U
R
P
I
N
G
11I
N
T
E
R
E
O
R
N
T
12N
E
13T
W
E
I
G
H
14T
15P
R
S
I
E
16B
L
17A
R
E
18S
T
19A
R
T
L
E
A
B
M
O
T
T
W
20S
Q
U
I
B
21R
E
L
I
E
V
E
I
T
L
A
R
E
22C
A
S
T
E
23R
E
S
I
S
T
S
Across
1 Across Old Beck, in disarray, is obstructed (7) → BLOCKED Anagram
Anagram of “OLD BECK”.
4 Across Produce of the land hidden in legendary I elders (5) → YIELD Hidden word
Hidden inside “legendary I elders”.
7 Across Species retirement fund, each, produces a flowering shrub (7) → SPIRAEA Charade
SP + IRA + EA.
9 Across War holding electronics giant briefly is a bet (5) → WAGER Container
GE inside WAR.
10 Across Belching follows a good tot's massage turned around (7) → BURPING Reversal
G NIP RUB reversed.
11 Across Behead winter to bury the dead (5) → INTER Deletion
WINTER without its initial W.
12 Across True mass of a rearranged white gent (3,6) → NET WEIGHT Anagram
Anagram of “WHITE GENT”.
16 Across A loud sound from leaders of big lions attacking roaring elephants (5) → BLARE Initialism
First letters of: big, lions, attacking, roaring, elephants.
18 Across Rattles rearranged could frighten suddenly (7) → STARTLE Anagram
Anagram of “RATTLES”.
20 Across A firecracker, or a brief news item (5) → SQUIB Double definition
Two separate definitions of the same word.
21 Across Ease found in some care lie very deep (7) → RELIEVE Hidden word
Hidden inside “care lie very”.
22 Across Actors' energy determines one's social class (5) → CASTE Charade
CAST + E.
23 Across Relaxes, clutching existence, withstands (7) → RESISTS Container
IS inside RESTS.
Down
1 Down Wisest choice from beets mangled by TB (4,3) → BEST BET Anagram
Anagram of “TB beets”.
2 Down Zero, tiny north, a Greek letter (7) → OMICRON Charade
O + MICRO + N.
3 Down First off, keen hunters always kill instantly for a drab colour (5) → KHAKI Initialism
First letters of: keen, hunters, always, kill, instantly.
4 Down Wide open after a winy nag runs wild (7) → YAWNING Anagram
Anagram of “winy nag”.
5 Down Ate, we hear, is a rowing crew (5) → EIGHT Homophone
Sounds like “ate”.
6 Down Mangled rider proves more dreadful (5) → DIRER Anagram
Anagram of “rider”.
8 Down Stag gressorial types hide an attacker (9) → AGGRESSOR Hidden word
Hidden inside “stag gressorial types”.
13 Down Shiver as treble is scrambled with a thousand (7) → TREMBLE Anagram
Anagram of “TREBLE M”.
14 Down Muffled laughs from a time trial held within levels (7) → TITTERS Container
TT inside TIERS.
15 Down See and weep, retreating, for small marbles (7) → PEEWEES Reversal
SEE WEEP reversed.
16 Down Elementary, a bachelor's degree before an editorial note (5) → BASIC Charade
BA + SIC.
17 Down Leaders of astronauts bring unusual tools south, adjoins (5) → ABUTS Initialism
First letters of: astronauts, bring, unusual, tools, south.
19 Down Some chat lasts forever, revealing a collection of maps (5) → ATLAS Hidden word
Hidden inside “chat lasts”.
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.
