There is nothing too troublesome here, but some solvers might get a bit held up by the slightly suspect definitions. Bang on 6 minutes for me.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 7 | Seldom met with Mark before church (6) |
| SCARCE – SCAR + CE | |
| 8 | Reprimand coach standing by favourite (6) |
| CARPET – CAR + PET. Supposedly so named for when workers were hauled in front of the boss, whose office was carpeted. | |
| 9 | Intervening period led to EMI going west (8) |
| MEANTIME – MEANT (led to) + EMI backwards | |
| 10 | Circle round pub game (4) |
| POOL – LOOP backwards | |
| 11 | Sing into main microphone finally (6) |
| INTONE – INTO + [ |
|
| 13 | Father meets new femme fatale (5) |
| SIREN – SIRE (father, verb) + N | |
| 14 | In truth, humdrum existence (3) |
| RUT – hidden word | |
| 15 | Correspond with tango partner (5) |
| TALLY – T (tango, NATO alphabet) + ALLY | |
| 17 | What’s cutting criminal charge — that is right (6) |
| RAPIER – RAP + I.E. + R | |
| 19 | Ruin atmosphere when returning (4) |
| DOOM – MOOD backwards | |
| 20 | SHAPE military headquarters (8) |
| PENTAGON – double definition | |
| 22 | What could be Kalahari rat (6) |
| DESERT – double definition, noun then verb | |
| 23 | Path following sheltered margin (6) |
| LEEWAY – LEE (sheltered) + WAY. Hmm, not sure about LEE as an adjective? It’s not listed as such in my dictionary, but I suppose ‘lee side’ is adjectival | |
| Down | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Run in fabulous area (4) |
| ACRE – ACE (fabulous) with R inserted | |
| 2 | Wild horse, breed mostly seen around North Carolina (6) |
| BRONCO – BROO[ |
|
| 3 | Concerned with valuable clothing? This will get oil out (8) |
| REFINERY – RE + FINERY. I always imagine that you put oil IN to a refinery, but I suppose some of the end products are oils of some description. | |
| 4 | Skin disease found in seven cases retrospectively (4) |
| ACNE – reverse hidden word | |
| 5 | Support former queen as appropriate (6) |
| PROPER – PROP (support) + ER (former HM the Q) | |
| 6 | Condemn study with little weight (8) |
| DENOUNCE – DEN + OUNCE | |
| 12 | Part of air in mobile ringtone (8) |
| NITROGEN – Anagram (‘mobile’) of RINGTONE. I may have seen this before but it’s very nicely concealed here. | |
| 13 | Check back of car concealed by street corner (8) |
| STRANGLE – [ |
|
| 16 | Clingy individual allowed to hold naughty child (6) |
| LIMPET – LET with IMP inside | |
| 18 | Earth? Tons supporting tree (6) |
| PLANET – PLANE (tree) + T | |
| 20 | Cause for regret is mine over years (4) |
| PITY – PIT (mine) + Y | |
| 21 | Gemstone ring carried by friend (4) |
| OPAL – O + PAL. The chestnuttiest chestnut to finish with. | |
MEANTIME,BRONCO and LEEWAY very poorly crafted.The rest wasn’t too difficult.