The Guardian - Cryptic crossword No 21,698 - Sep 23 1999

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Clues Answers
8's firm backing non-drinker supports drive OCTETTE
A mystery joker, about half honest, concealing horse WHODUNNIT
Artist offered sister peculiar fruitless yellow flowers RANANCULI
Beastly sound in 7 8 NEIGH
College's main French compound POLYMER
Crossing embraces a Chinese river XIANG
Demand to be precise EXACT
Dictator given order shows a particular expression IDIOM
Disputes either way accep-ted by member that's spine-less and transparent ARROWWORM
Dogsbody trailing mum MASTIFF
Gasping leader choked by cigarettes, dropping place DUNGHILL
Group at the watering-hole OASIS
ie Scottish Supt. held him and I, else...? (tongue twister) THELEITHPOLICE
If victory's British, I'm Batman! TAXCOLLECTOR
Clues Answers
Initiate former Israeli PM BEGIN
It's said John's a failure LOSER
Italian inventor of Romanic extraction MARCONI
Large volume of traffic? OMNIBUS
Learned English getting vulgar about it ERUDITE
Lustrous material given by Welsh flower to Greek character TAFFETA
Man scaled rocks on February 2 CANDLEMAS
One should evacuate WC, given standard deposits of igneous rock FELDSPAR
Red-hot flower's sound for a caterpillar LARVA
Rowers' function in pool? EIGHTBALL
See 1 Across DISMISSETHUS
Supposedly invisible bomber, though the last crashed STEALTH
The inevitable result of something, if set for a change SIGNOFTHETIMES
To be passionate with a ton and a half on top is asking a lot! CLAMOROUS