Quick Cryptic No 326 by Flamande

The word play of 1dn and the definition of the crossing 12ac caused minor talking points in an otherwise gentle romp which I hope everyone can enjoy. On holiday last week (and thanks to William for so ably standing in) where, as usual, I took a few 15x15s to while away the time until my return to the pleasures of TfTT. I only mention this as my LOI on each was 16dn (with Astatine being a particularly chewy one). Has anyone else noted the difficulty of 16dns or is this just me?

Definitions underlined, cd=cryptic definition, dd=double definition, deletions crossed out.

Across

7 On Chinese vessel man read out unwanted letters (4,4)

&nbsp &nbspJUNK MAIL - JUNK, homophone of male.

8 Oaf included in school outing (4)

&nbsp &nbspLOUT - Schoo(L OUT)ing.

9 Heavy weight carried by expert without delay (2,4)

&nbsp &nbspAT ONCE - Weight (TON) inside expert (ACE).

10 Coats manufactured in Berkshire town (5)

&nbsp &nbspASCOT - Anagram (manufactured) of COATS.

11 Youngster starts to behave, obeying you (3)

&nbsp &nbspBOY - First letters of Behave, Obeying You.

12 Urban settlement so damp before start of October (6)

&nbsp &nbspSOWETO - SO, WET, (O)ctober. The word play was very transparent which makes the rather loose definition OK.

14 Splutter, swallowing Irish rum perhaps (6)

&nbsp &nbspSPIRIT - Splutter (SPIT) holding Irish (IR).

16 Rifleman runs after wading bird (6)

&nbsp &nbspSNIPER - R for runs after SNIPE.

18 Caught bad egg misbehaving (6)

&nbsp &nbspBAGGED - Anagram (misbehaving) of BAD EGG).

19 Fellow first out of grocery store (3)

&nbsp &nbspELI - dELI.

20 Strongholds frost damaged (5)

&nbsp &nbspFORTS - Anagram (damaged) of FROST.

21 Keep transporting cardboard box (6)

&nbsp &nbspCARTON - Keep transporting = CART ON.

23 Wild party in Gravesend (4)

&nbsp &nbspRAVE - G(RAVE)send.

24 Knitted sweater for a milk supplier (8)

&nbsp &nbspGUERNSEY - dd. As we are more used to Aran sweaters at TfTT I thought I'd list all definitions of Guernsey - one of which will be familiar to our Antipodean friends: - a breed of dairy cattle producing rich creamy milk, originating from the island of Guernsey. - a seaman's knitted woollen sweater. - (Australian) a sleeveless woollen shirt or jumper worn by a football player.

Down

1 Pursue and capture daughter in old German place (4,4)

&nbsp &nbspHUNT DOWN - Daughter (D) inside old German (HUN) and place (TOWN). The last of which is pretty loose which may have caused problems if used in a harder clue.

2 Hide empty sack at home (4)

&nbsp &nbspSKIN - SacK, at home (IN).

3 Look — old boy put up garden structure (6)

&nbsp &nbspGAZEBO - Look (GAZE), old boy (OB) upwards.

4 Law, say, broken repeatedly (6)

&nbsp &nbspALWAYS - Anagram (broken) of LAW SAY.

5 Firing about fifty for not working hard (8)

&nbsp &nbspSLACKING - SACKING around fifty (L).

6 Leave S. American capital: there's nothing to lose (4)

&nbsp &nbspQUIT - QUITo.

13 Former hospital worker and trader with contacts abroad (8)

&nbsp &nbspEXPORTER - Former (EX), PORTER.

15 One church close to English port covered with frost (4,4)

&nbsp &nbspICED OVER - One (I), church (CE), English port (DOVER). The 'close to' simply makes the clue read better and says ICE is next to DOVER.

17 Write name again and step down (6)

&nbsp &nbspRESIGN - Write name again = re-sign.

18 Motorcyclist goes round about, making row (6)

&nbsp &nbspBICKER - About (C) inside BIKER.

20 Dullplace to live (4)

&nbsp &nbspFLAT - dd.

22 Line of soldiers fled, pursued by king (4)

&nbsp &nbspRANK - RAN, K.