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24 across: Gas one twice bottles? (4) - Answer neon, but I cannot parse it in a satisfactory way.

27 across: Dated scoundrel with hand missing and a slippery customer (4) _ Answer heel, but again cannot parse it satisfactorily.

Any help gratefully received - I must be missing some very simple points here. Thanks.

27 Heel, dated scoundrel.
H = Hand missing and (Take 'and' away!)
Eel. slippery customer

One one, one twice, would have 'neon' inside (bottles). O NEON e.

Malone

Glad they said dated. I have never heard of heel in that sense.

Grunger, thanks. I had heard of 'heel' in that sense - but probably put it in the same class as cad and bounder ... not used in the real world for a really long time!

Malone

First 'daily' now 'heel', both with meanings I feel you want expunged, but they are from 'real life' not so long ago! We had 'Mod' as a boy on a scooter the other day. Do you want that off its rocker too because today's youngsters may not understand the reference?

Actually when I saw the Thursday 'Times' crossword as the subject of a thread, I thought there might be a complaint about ANOREXIC (clue definition 'hungry-looking'). Perhaps a sensitive reference in these 'woke' times.

Paul... I too wondered, just for a moment or so, about 'anorexic'. It seemed a little ... tactless, perhaps? The definition in Chambers includes 'marked emaciation', that seems a bit stronger than 'hungry-looking'.

I think there are lots of 'old' words, ie words we seldom use, still being used in crosswords. As well as your Mod, and my Heel and Char/Daily, there are plenty of others - I dislike Deb and any use or wordplay involving Rake or Roue (members of the Heel club). Any usage of tired, old-fashioned words sees the setter marked down in my mental assessment!

5 down: the answer looks to be “In black and white” (definition “clearly”). Does anyone know how the rest of the clue fits in?

tim

police car in NY

I'm bumping up this thread as a new post discusses something already mentioned...