CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Upset as dog eats pet snails (10) 6 Run exclusive Sun originally missed (4)

9 Scratch some flawless cufflinks (5)

10 Dull article, one penned by prisoner (9)

12 Wild West action with old actor (5,8)

14 Second one climbing quickly? (6-2)

15 Gangster twin heard working? It might add colour (6)

17 Start of showers and terrible April wind (6)

19 Invest nothing in redevelopment of premium store (8)

21 In scale for amount of food consumed (13)

24 Delight bear (9)

25 Cross powerless buccaneer (5) 26 That man had announced caution (4)

27 Western bandleader seen in Commonwealth city (10)

DOWN

1 Oddly glum and quiet outpouring (4)

2 A little liquid refreshment before study (7)

3 Cool places for rare tigers to play (13)

4 Engineer put in rot, causing laser emission? (8) 5 Drink before a play (5) 7 Speechifying (not loud) in favour of a Conservative (7)

8 What writers sometimes assume? (10) 11 Go on, irritate criminal with new questioning (13) 13 Religious symbol on bed could make someone grumpy (10) 16 The setter’s deadly and forever going on (8)

18 Separate admission of tardiness with minutes vanishing (7)

20 Bill to support popular former partner? That’s rough (7) 22 Cut government’s last British unit (1-4)

23 Fellow spotted in hide-and-seek (4)

Monday’s Puzzle Solved