CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

No 16,826

ACROSS

1 Sweet boxer protects

daughters at home (7) 5 Discourage priest going with posh aristocrat (3,3) 9 It picks up signals from colonist woman heading west (7) 10 Songbird showing yellow talon out of shape (7) 11 Tree has collapsed (3) 12 Visit NY site under reconstruction, showing tact (11) 13 Axes rotten elm,

revealing its tissue (5) 14 Knotty problem underlying playground’s shape (9) 16 Daring old American to follow a Conservative in car (9) 17 Croat trained

theatre worker (5) 19 Battered biplane user

can’t be beaten (11) 22 He follows queen to

start of Mall (3) 23 Unruly conversation about love’s essentially nice (7) 24 1 Across, one in a pot,

stirred roughly (7) 26 In Paris, second person secures directions of vessels (6) 27 Plug in these

crude earphones (7)

DOWN

1 Aim to surround hectare with cross body of troops (7) 2 Arrange teams scheduled to control current tree problem (5,3,7) 3 Trendy name

for local (3) 4 Beam protects

a cereal (5) 5 Monarch’s sons hold old victor in areas away from cities (9) 6 African’s tailored suit impressing Tory leader (5) 7 Where to refuel, like rush-hour train commuters? (7,8) 8 Head of zoo in Yemen misused protein perhaps (6) 12 Shrub French writer

pulled up (5) 14 Newfangled RAC’s OK for

top carriers (4,5) 15 Bowl over a puzzling feature of

Hampton Court (5) 16 A part for each one (6) 18 Rave about a politician

out of control (7) 20 Paved area perhaps

used in anticipation (5) 21 Bishop has to put up

with church blunder (5) 25 Sort of green turf

that’s cut (3)