Clues
Across
- 1 Advertising campaign (“package holidays we can trust!”) ends here (7)
- 5 Pastry spoiled with odd pattern of cuts (3)
- 7 Gambler’s indulgence calamitously halts income (4, 7)
- 8 Dry aching mouth must find relief (4)
- 9 Hand-outs for aviators (6)
- 10 Musk’s old department’s no good, making not a buck? (3)
- 11 Sticky substance made organ grow larger (6)
- 13 Man perhaps on way to altar, we hear (4)
- 16 Worried, I cut regular feature of Country Life? (11)
- 17 Address in Madrid - yeah, right! (3)
- 18 Detectives hustle - criminal ultimately escapes (7)
Down
- 1 Corridors of power: wise conduct suppressed by fool (11)
- 2 Iconic character seen online (5)
- 3 Austen heroine has energy for kicking and punching? (4)
- 4 Two creatures rising to attack (6)
- 5 Reportedly meddles with trophy (5)
- 6 Draw still: fashion event on board ship (4, 7)
- 9 Confuse female cattle (3)
- 10 Balls ascend awkwardly (6)
- 12 Orchestra re-record section that’s not so well-done (5)
- 14 Short most of team, ending in defeat (5)
- 15 Navy played the hornpipe in audition (4)
Setter’s notes
A bigger grid this time. I’m aware of a few shortcomings here, which I’ve owned up to at the end.
Across
- 1 “Advertising campaign” = PR + the ends of “packagE holidayS wE caN trusT” — PRESENT, i.e. “here”.
- 5 Delete the odd letters (“odd pattern of cuts”) of “sPoIlEd” — PIE.
- 7 An anagram (“calamitously”) of HALTS INCOME — SLOT MACHINE.
- 8 The first letter (“mouth”) of “aching” = A + “find relief” = RID — ARID.
- 9 Double definition: hand-outs (pamphlets) and aviators — FLYERS.
- 10 “Musk’s old department” = DOGE, minus “good” = G — DOE, a female deer, not a buck.
- 11 “Organ” = EAR + “grow larger” = WAX — EARWAX.
- 13 Definition by example (the Isle of Man), sounding like (“we hear”) “way to altar” = AISLE — ISLE.
- 16 An anagram (“worried”) of I CUT REGULAR — AGRICULTURE.
- 17 Spanish for “yeah” = SI + “right” = R — SIR, a form of address.
- 18 An anagram (“criminal”) of HUSTLE + the last letter of “escapes” — SLEUTHS.
Down
- 1 “Power” = P, then “wise” = SAGE + “conduct” = WAY, both inside “fool” = ASS — PASSAGEWAYS.
- 2 Cryptic definition: an iconic character you’d see online — EMOJI.
- 3 “Energy” = E + “kicking and punching” = MMA (mixed martial arts) — EMMA.
- 4 “Two creatures”, CAT + ELK, reversed (“rising”) — TACKLE.
- 5 Sounds like (“reportedly”) “meddles” = PRIES — PRIZE.
- 6 “Still” = EVEN + an anagram (“fashion”) of EVENT, inside “ship” = SS — EVEN STEVENS, i.e. “draw”.
- 9 “Female” = F + “cattle” = OX — FOX.
- 10 An anagram (“awkwardly”) of ASCEND — DANCES, i.e. “balls”.
- 12 Hidden word: “orchestRA RE-Record” — RARER.
- 14 Most of “team” = SQUA(D) + the ending of “defeat” = T — SQUAT, “short”.
- 15 Sounds like (“in audition”) “played the hornpipe” = BLEW — BLUE.
Apologies for the imperfections: at 1 Across, I’m no longer happy cluing PR as “advertising” or anything like it; at 15 Down, the hornpipe is an obscure ancient wind instrument as well as the familiar sailor’s dance; and 11 Across and 10 Down are a bit saucy.