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
Anagram of “mating tours”.
8 Across Wrongdoings from six enclosed by golfer Els (5) → EVILS Container
VI inside ELS.
9 Across Sofa moi, rearranged, is a gangster (7) → MAFIOSO Anagram
Anagram of “sofa moi”.
10 Across Annoyed, having evaded duty minus any quiet (5) → IRKED Deletion
SHIRKED without its initial SH.
11 Across Aviator emerges from sodium, doctor and rib, sent back (7) → BIRDMAN Reversal
NA MD RIB reversed.
12 Across Grain-beating veteran stands at the doorway's edge (9) → THRESHOLD Charade
THRESH + OLD.
15 Across Per duel, arranged as a musical introduction (7) → PRELUDE Anagram
Anagram of “per duel”.
16 Across Many elephants sometimes overturn nests initially, a subatomic particle (5) → MESON Initialism
First letters of: Many, elephants, sometimes, overturn, nests.
18 Across Right, having wildly slaked thirst, turns gloomy (7) → DARKLES Anagram
Anagram of “slaked R”.
20 Across Sin turned Swiss, scrambled, shows jaw tips (5) → CHINS Anagram
Anagram of “sin ch”.
21 Across New zests, ire scrambled, occidentalizes (11) → WESTERNIZES Anagram
Anagram of “new zests ire”.
Down
1 Down A chance, or a narrow gap (7) → OPENING Double definition
Two separate definitions of the same word.
2 Down Slender, joined by a thousand, one might suppose (5) → THINK Charade
THIN + K.
3 Down Pondered, as found in an old album used previously (5) → MUSED Hidden word
Hidden inside “album used”.
4 Down Crash into a stain, reversed (3) → RAM Reversal
MAR reversed.
5 Down Blaze concealed in a robin fern oil spill (7) → INFERNO Hidden word
Hidden inside “robin fern oil”.
6 Down Primed, lodged together following gravity (7) → GROOMED Charade
G + ROOMED.
7 Down Contempt from tin surrounding the Latin word for heart (5) → SCORN Container
COR inside SN.
11 Down Moisten meat, curtailing Egyptian cat goddess (5) → BASTE Deletion
BASTET without its final T.
12 Down We torch a barn, mixed up - 1994 cult revenge film (3,4) → THE CROW Anagram
Anagram of “we torch”.
13 Down Blues or muddled, Russian currency (7) → ROUBLES Anagram
Anagram of “BLUES OR”.
14 Down Origin, heredity units holding a scientific unit system (7) → GENESIS Container
SI inside GENES.
15 Down Dessert topped with a dose of radiation looks plump (5) → PUDGY Charade
PUD + GY.
16 Down Burgundy wine from a gutted lunar mass concentration (5) → MACON Deletion
MASCON without S from the middle.
17 Down Sleek puppies in training zone initially, a fluffy dog breed (5) → SPITZ Initialism
First letters of: Sleek, puppies, in, training, zone.
19 Down Take legal action against a Sioux, we hear (3) → SUE Homophone
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.
