CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Volunteers, Europeans, housing five hundred little creatures (8) 9 Picture of central American country in which gold is found (8) 10 Coastal location offering Beethoven’s Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth (4) 11 Support not about to be given by individual better than the rest (6,2,4) 13 Arty cad, I fancy, getting female made of stone for support (8) 15 Perplexity? Time to

get perspective (6) 16 In Home Counties,

see type of fruit (4) 17 Risky enterprise —

two chaps duped (5) 18 Regular occupants of

eery site at one time (4) 20 Characters stuck in class —

is teacher giving help? (6) 21 Friend left as one disinclined to work and showing no vitality (8) 23 System accounting for the

enemy in a locality (8,4) 26 Green enthusiast set about

protecting island (4) 27 Lion in trouble with awkward mule: such may be on the floor (8) 28 Looking at country, celebrate (8)

DOWN 2 11, most importantly (5,3) 3 Bet sin could be destroyed with prayer for this worshipper (12) 4 Operator’s instrument

in window (6) 5 PR stuff is what a

twister provides (4) 6 A student in trouble?

It’s not made explicit (8) 7 Distant circle in

gambling game (4) 8 Ben and mates mingling in garden flat? (8) 12 No set dinners arranged for hotel visitors not staying the night? (3-9) 14 Sink has very little liquid? There’s nothing in it (5) 16 Boxes, see, not in close-packed configuration (8) 17 Risky enterprise — two chaps let down (8) 19 Sort of mixture is what you are looking for (8) 22 One in group with hesitation gets to hang around (6) 24 Soon to be deprived of love, a woman (4) 25 Soft slime heaped up in rubbish tip? (4)