The Sunday Crossword No 3345, Sunday 16 Feb 2025

ACROSS

1   Primarily squalid purveyor, illicit vendor? (4) SPIV Acrostic &lit

4   Tiny amount of drink – damn! (4) DASH [DD]

8   Mustard on a roll, for a song (6,9) YELLOW SUBMARINE {YELLOW}{SUBMARINE}

11 A bounder, the writer describing European universities etc (7) ACADEME {A}{CAD}{ME} over {E}

12 Mo in no need of barista (7) INSTANT [MD]

13 Improved health for hubby? (5,4) OTHER HALF*

14 Counterpart of red – and of black? (5) WHITE [CD]

15 Scrap fairy tale with king at the end becoming … dead (5) SHRED SHRE(-k+d)D

16 What boots may be in a different case? (5,4) BRAND NAME [CD]

19 How a list of Henry’s wives goes, excluding the final queen, OK? (2,2,3) UP TO PAR {UP TO PARr}

21 Component of lathe is twitching? I’m sceptical (7) ATHEIST [T]

22 Understood, in a phrase, how a lip-reader describes her work (1,3,4,3,4) I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN [DD]

23 Location of unpleasantness on edge of eyelid? (4) STYE {STY}{Ey..d} Semi&lit

24 Falling over, run into swarm (4) TEEM<=

DOWN

2   I reopened bananas and showed the way (9) PIONEERED*

3   Victor is constant, on time, showing guts (7) VISCERA {V}{IS}{C}{ERA}

4   Gather intel from – scare the pants off? (7) DEBRIEF [DD]

5   Catches son, acts the scold (5) SNAGS {S}{NAGS}

6   Monday rattled one that’s full of beans (6) DYNAMO*

7   Place – place to drive from – place to park it? (6) SETTEE {SET}{TEE}

9   Dubious treat, the eel’s dressed ‘skin’ (11) LEATHERETTE*

10 Everyman’s given a drink at 4; from the outset, Everyman’s making things up (11) IMAGINATIVE {I'M}{A}{GIN}{AT}{IV}{Ev...n}

14 One who wrote amusing novels such as Emma, you say? (9) WODEHOUSE (~woodhouse)

15 Detective Inspector puts up with absence of intelligence (6) STUPID {DI}{PUTS}<=

16 Heavy criticism, lawyers blow a fuse (7) BARRAGE {BAR}{RAGE}

17 Number-cruncher: fastidious, proverbially patient type accepting unknown number (7) ANALYST {ANAL}{Y}{ST}

18 Cockney’s cooking – then … ? (6) EATING hEATING [FITB]

20 … piece of snipe with another bird (5) PEWIT [T]

Reference List

European = E, King = K, Dead = D, Victor = V, Constant = C, Son = S, Unknown number = Y