Jim Horne, writing in the New York Times blog (9 December) about their daily crossword explains the construction of some of the clues and their answers. It includes this paragraph:

A couple of famous female athletes make the puzzle today. Tennis player EVONNE Goolagong won 14 Grand Slam titles, and “Two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner” is the golfer Juli INKSTER. Along the bottom of the grid, “Where cells are of little use” describes DEAD SPOTS, and “Friends and such” clues SECTS. Friends is short for the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers.

Earlier this month, Jeremy Leggett’s review in the Financial Times of Deborah Cadbury’s Chocolate wars book refers to the strong social conscience of Quaker companies such as Cadbury’s.