The Cryptic
ACROSS 1. 19 down reaches midpoint before replacing drawback… (6,7)
9. …following beam losing right front end (5)
10. Listen in – apes roved around! (9)
11. Leave fat English companion a quarter – but if it’s wild, it’s futile! (5,5)
12. Watch small preserve (4)
14. French encyclopaedist performed English rubbish! (7) 16. Avoid thousands in fairground attraction (7)
17. Staggers, and attracts around church (7)
19. Hair treatment is phoney crap (7)
20. Prune right around Winton (4) 21. Popular axis is excessive (10) 24. Glee, a Daddy Cool song! (5,4) 25. Time ceremony – it’s boring
and repetitive (5)
26. Experts in midwifery required – so certain bits need replacing (13) DOWN 1. Switched outfit, held chances, got result (7,7) 2. Massachusetts capital loses lead, rolls over – definitely negative! (3,2)
3. Artist concerned with broken hearts – Samarium and Europium, to name but two! (4,6)
4. Worry over that woman in Spring (7)
5. Changed prophet does a backflip over five islands (7) 6. Rear a royal small Englishman (4)
7. Get over dire patch – it hardly costs anything (4,5)
8. Savoury dishes – samples this one with relish! (7,7)
13. I trade with a small jerk – in pursuit of perfection! (10)
15. The German band with a party – that’s reckless! (7-2)
18. Silicon Valley town provides state intervention for Jones (3,4)
19. He won’t work for the match (7)
22. Beast, not large, but a great
soul! (5)
23. Marvin and Kernaghan – the
dregs (4)
Solution next week