GUARDIAN CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

(27,895)

ACROSS

1 Without prior help, unruly

characters in form drop out (4,7) 9,10 Business conducted outside one

US college by theatre cast (7,7) 11 Writer needing reason to join

dance (9) 12 Constant contributor

to employ alumni (5) 13 Eastern regime brought back

torture, any number fleeing (4) 14 New union member’s boss booked

family accommodation (10) 16 Organised peace tours where

atmosphere’s lacking (5,5) 19 Tree from China,

source of myrrh (4) 21 Hot-headed knight getting out of

his glad rags (5) 22 Contentious weapons in a vault,

with others unopened (4,5) 24 Parody about Liberal providing winter sports facility (3,4) 25 Adult paper under

discussion (2,5) 26 Jar containing dipso’s first

drink (3,3,5)

DOWN

1 Assembly of relativel y 9 10 (6,9) 2 Leading spinner playing first (2,3) 3 More bubbly fluid residues English once disposed of (7) 4 Delivered cold-weather spray to keep temperature rising (7) 5 Indestructible clue is appearing regularly in paper (8) 6 Lead singer’s notes? (5,5,5) 7 Spotted learner driver taken into police custody (6) 8 What Daisy and friend did presumably in series 4? (6) 15 Wrongdoing concealed by angry criminal where lawyers abound (5,3) 16 Distant Piscean? (6) 17 Carriage parking originally halved at public school (7) 18 Elegant six-footer that aids Sizewell operation (7) 20 Scrooge catching Cratchitt’s latest name for him (6) 23 Mac, small one I found in store (5)