The solved grid
1W
I
2S
E
3M
A
N
4G
H
5O
S
T
H
P
O
M
6A
G
E
N
D
A
7S
8A
L
E
P
9H
T
C
E
E
I
G
O
10I
N
T
E
R
I
M
11R
E
A
L
M
T
R
N
B
M
E
12T
I
E
13D
O
L
M
A
14P
A
S
A
A
A
T
H
T
15K
N
16O
W
N
17N
O
T
C
A
R
E
E
R
C
C
R
N
A
18S
C
A
L
E
19E
V
E
R
T
E
D
T
S
O
E
20P
R
E
P
S
21K
A
S
H
M
I
R
Across
1 Across Mine saw twisted for sage (4,3) → WISE MAN Anagram
Anagram of “mine saw”.
4 Across Spirit lurking in tough ostrich (5) → GHOST Hidden word
Hidden inside “tough ostrich”.
6 Across Silver goal while meeting lists (7) → AGENDAS Charade
AG + END + AS.
8 Across Bitter with acidity measure for Hebrew letter (5) → ALEPH Charade
ALE + PH.
10 Across Bury one metre meanwhile (7) → INTERIM Charade
INTER + I + M.
11 Across Domain for genuine male (5) → REALM Charade
REAL + M.
12 Across Draw leaders of tricky interview exams (3) → TIE Initialism
First letters of: tricky, interview, exams.
13 Across Stuffed leaf for droll Emma oddly (5) → DOLMA Alternate letters
Every other letter of “droll Emma”, starting with the first.
14 Across Sap returned for ballet step (3) → PAS Reversal
SAP reversed.
15 Across Recognised thousand at present beside north (5) → KNOWN Charade
K + NOW + N.
17 Across Be indifferent, back inside better act only (3,4) → NOT CARE Hidden backwards
Hidden backwards inside “better act only”.
18 Across Laces stirred to climb (5) → SCALE Anagram
Anagram of “laces”.
19 Across Always Edward informally turned outwards (7) → EVERTED Charade
EVER + TED.
20 Across Postscript enclosing salesman gets ready (5) → PREPS Container
REP inside PS.
21 Across Mark his reshuffled Himalayan territory (7) → KASHMIR Anagram
Anagram of “mark his”.
Down
1 Down Right stuff from mad tweak that is (4,2,5) → WHAT IT TAKES Anagram
Anagram of “tweak that is”.
2 Down Spook from wrecked scepter (7) → SPECTRE Anagram
Anagram of “scepter”.
3 Down Contemporary choreography from crazy damn encored (6,5) → MODERN DANCE Anagram
Anagram of “damn encored”.
5 Down Some of Rome gave Greek finale (5) → OMEGA Hidden word
Hidden inside “Rome gave”.
7 Down Guise from unruly balm scene (9) → SEMBLANCE Anagram
Anagram of “balm scene”.
8 Down Inflatable bed from smart tech on right, rug on curl (3,8) → AIR MATTRESS Charade
AI + R + MAT + TRESS.
9 Down Frontier farmer from revised heated Morse (11) → HOMESTEADER Anagram
Anagram of “heated Morse”.
14 Down Imaginary wraith (7) → PHANTOM Double definition
Two separate definitions of the same word.
16 Down Pastor ate, in part, to hold forth (5) → ORATE Hidden word
Hidden inside “Pastor ate”.
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
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corrections policy.
