Complete
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1 8 11 14 18 20 22 2 19 17 10 3 9 4 16 15 5 21 23 6 12 7 13
  1. 1a Gripping item? (4)
  2. 3a (Strong) drink holder (3,5)
  3. 8a Desire (4)
  4. 9a Next door (8)
  5. 11a Big Ben (London) — Old Joe (Birmingham) (5,5)
  6. 14a Very small (informal) (6)
  7. 15a Not certain (6)
  8. 17a Sweeper (10)
  9. 20a Disparage (4-4)
  10. 21a Excavation from which minerals are extracted (4)
  11. 22a Left behind — unoccupied (8)
  12. 23a American ex-soldiers (abbr) (4)
  13. 1d Speed (8)
  14. 2d Patron (8)
  15. 4d Under cover? (6)
  16. 5d Mix (10)
  17. 6d If grey, it's not easy to interpret (4)
  18. 7d Close friends (4)
  19. 10d Scary perks (anag) (10)
  20. 12d One on the run (8)
  21. 13d Irresponsible (8)
  22. 16d Not a laughing matter (2,4)
  23. 18d Imitated uncritically (4)
  24. 19d Flip (4)