Daily Mail Thursday - Can anyone please help explain

[ozzy1]

8d Le Carre hero's some distance into suburbs of Sydney (8) ?m?l?y (I can see 'Smiley' going in here - Mile between S-Y but I can't tie it in with the clue - never read any Le Carre - is it a character?)

23d Ate wisely, faded eating meat, avoiding odd bits (6) d?e?e? (I can see 'deemed' but again I can't tie it in with the clue)

Any help with the above would be greatly appreciated.

Apart from that I'm done. This is the first time that I have been able to work the crossword out so far on my own without dictionaries, asking questions or looking at other people's questions!

[mojay]

smiley is a Le Carre character

23d dieted

[Euphemia]

23d dieted

[craft1948]

One of Le carre's characters was George Smiley.

[factor-fiction]

Smiley is a character. Distance = mile
Suburbs (outskirts/outer letters ) of SydneY = SY

[chelle7272]

8d yes it's the main character
23 looks like dieted?

[mojay]

dieted being died + odd bits of m E a T

[plautus]

George Smiley is the hero of many of Le Carré's works.
23 is dieted. Died (faded) plus meat without the odd letters (m)e(a)t.

[falconfan1]

dieted - died (faded) + even letters from meat

[emmie]

george Smiley character in Le Carre books

[emmie]

todays was easier than some lately.

[ozzy1]

Thank you all for your help - 'dieted' looks really obvious now - I just couldn't see it!

[giveup]

Well done finishing on your own. Its such a feeling of satisfaction.Sometimes though I dont really understand the clues but take a chance on the answer,and its surprising how often it works out.

[ozzy1]

Today's crossword definitely had to be an easy one otherwise I certainly wouldn't have been able to work it out for myself! I usually really struggle.

[giveup]

I'm not finding it easy today. Still struggling.

[emmie]

any we can help with..

[falconfan1]

Well done ozzy1 - you are obviously gettting accustomed to this crossword setter's way of thinking!

[emmie]

falconfan, that's a ruse by the crafty compiler, they aren't always that easy, as some on here know, x

[plautus]

It is all to do with practice. The more you do the more you will recognise the signposts. When I started cryptic crosswords 30 odd years ago I congratulated myself on being able to complete 50% of the Telegraph, and if I managed to solve a single clue in the Times that was an added bonus. Today if I cannot finish the Times in the time that it takes my kettle to boil I sulk the whole day through.

[vallaw]

Plautus - you must boil your kettle over a candle.

[emmie]

Palutus, i do understand, but the DM crossword doesn't have the same compiler each day i'm sure, that todays could be so very different from yesterdays, which was a piggy, is why so many struggle with it. I liked the DT cryptic, that was quite hard but enjoyable, and you could get into the swing of it, but i haven't ever found that with DM. As to doing The Times, well i know quite a few people who are the same, get a bit huffy if it's not done in as shortest time possible, umm