THE CROSSWORDS
CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS
1 Sign he has dropped out of the race (5) 8 Allow a penalty, perhaps (8)
9 Miss a blank space (5)
10 An office in which little or no work gets done (8)
11 Tough fibre a girl is in (5)
12 Undermine vitality (3)
16 Maintain there’s somebody in the beer (6) 17 Not any sort of companion for Cleopatra (6) 18 A small court of law (3)
23 Sole piano pieces containing runs (5)
24 It’s taken as a medicine, not a diet properly (8)
25 Fireside game? (5)
26 Calling for employment (8)
27 Condition no true anarchist will accept (5)
DOWN
2 The militant’s first summons (8)
3 A teach-in arranged for brewers? (5,3) 4 French sailor goes over a yachting centre (6) 5 The bill he’d received was painful (5)
6 Less in sum perhaps (5)
7 It’s all over a point in the revised deed (5) 12 To the southeast there’s a large stretch of water (3)
13 Exactly right name for man or woman (3) 14 Didn’t sit inside and was conspicuous (5,3) 15 You won’t care if you lose it (8)
19 A kind of lemon tonic mixture is about right (6)
20 Draw a hole (5)
21 Handle the company’s capital (5)
22 Revises information about diets (5)
QUICK CLUES ACROSS
1 Slightly drunk (5) 8 Individually (3,2,3) 9 Narrow street (5) 10 Well-defined (8) 11 Malicious (5)
12 Sound made by cattle (3) 16 Affectedly modest (6) 17 Historical records (6) 18 Secluded room (3) 23 Share assigned (5) 24 Fiercely loyal faction (4,4) 25 Business depression (5) 26 Deep split in glacier (8) 27 Extreme contempt (5)
DOWN
2 Unlucky (3-5)
3 Wide range (8)
4 A deep blue (6) 5 Grow less (5)
6 In good condition (5) 7 Small-minded (5) 12 Guided (3)
13 Pallid (3)
14 Openly (2,6) 15 Veteran (3,5)
19 The way out (6) 20 Roughly built hut (5) 21 Move stealthily (5) 22 Fight (5)