DOUBLE CROSSWORD
CRYPTIC ACROSS
1 Soothing poor ill mouse that caught influenza (11)
9 Mexican to prepare for government duty (6,3)
10 Climber clings onto alternative to tusks (5)
11 Photo captured a girl with little imagination (7)
12 Terrible coward caught the tail end of superpower conflict (4,3)
13 Spent in leafy alternative bazaar (6)
15 Individual to absorb and forego education without any revision (8)
18 Degenerate nightspot is vacant after 10 years (8)
19 Trouble inspiring a maths problem (6)
22 Free port allegedly reduced charge (7)
24 Attacks as wrong brat waves guns (7)
26 Canvas support in use as elastic band (5)
27 Vagrant winkled out tinier insect (9)
28 Verge on character’s journey (6,5)
DOWN
1 Chinese leader kept account in a Chinese province (5)
2 Abused innocent child on play dates (9)
3 Untouched by international law (6)
4 Clone six versions of dictionaries (8)
5 Reverse angle ironically converged on window (5)
6 Device for timing chain holding up past two movements (9)
7 Spot the French going after the prostitute’s boss (6)
8 Cross between heartless harpy and flighty bird (6)
14 Reckons with certainty or error (7,2)
16 A dip’s bewitched fruit fly (9)
17 Reason the middle of fiord was lower (8)
18 Smart drugs originating with liquid paper (6)
20 Means to take the lead from hounds (6)
21 Fats Domino’s outside after backchat with one (6)
23 Great success in setting up environmental centre (5)
25 Catch one’s breath and catch on to the right to catch on (5)
QUICK ACROSS
1 Sorcerer (11)
9 Succeeding generations (9)
10 Bow-legged (5) 11 Rapture (7)
12 Peaceful and happy (7) 13 Curriculum vitae (6) 15 Prediction, foretelling (8) 18 Spasmodically (3,3,2) 19 Put in an appearance (6) 22 Humiliate, disgrace (7) 24 Disposed towards love (7)
26 Instruct (5)
27 Foiling, frustrating (9) 28 Dogmatic, inflexible (11)
DOWN
1 Of the nose (5)
2 Ordained minister (9) 3 Narcotic drug derived from the poppy (6)
4 Without a specified location (8)
5 Clique (5)
6 Meadow where the Magna Carta was signed (9) 7 Web-spinning arachnid (6) 8 Australia’s first British settlement (6)
14 Protect against danger (9) 16 Mix of dried petals (9) 17 Ambitious person (2-6) 18 Quirk (6)
20 Blueprint (6)
21 Author of “On the Origin of Species” (6) 23 Unplanned, improvised (2,3)
25 Volunteer one’s point of view (5)