Complete
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1 9 11 15 21 23 12 2 16 3 13 4 8 10 17 22 24 5 18 6 19 14 7 20
  1. 1 a Rotting animal flesh (7)
  2. 8 a Small wind instrument with finger holes (7)
  3. 9 a Concentrate anew (7)
  4. 10 a Type of living environment (7)
  5. 11 a Siren (anag) (5)
  6. 13 a All-consuming (9)
  7. 15 a Elastic hair fastener (9)
  8. 18 a First name of two of the Twelve Apostles (5)
  9. 21 a Erroneously pick up what someone's saying (7)
  10. 22 a Ringo Starr or Charlie Watts, for example (7)
  11. 23 a Coherent (7)
  12. 24 a Optical cleanser (7)
  13. 1 d One who looks after another (5)
  14. 2 d Starched frills round the neck, worn by Elizabethans (5)
  15. 3 d Cause discomfort to (13)
  16. 4 d One who eats enthusiastically (6)
  17. 5 d Condiment — use ace bear cub (anag) (8,5)
  18. 6 d Small restaurant serving wine (6)
  19. 7 d Succulent plant (6)
  20. 12 d What Cantor, Clapton, Idle and, indeed, George Orwell all have in common (4)
  21. 14 d Release (4)
  22. 15 d Figure of speech based on comparisons (6)
  23. 16 d Step down (6)
  24. 17 d Obstacle to be negotiated (6)
  25. 19 d Female parent (informal) (5)
  26. 20 d Side that won the American Civil War (5)

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