QUICK

ACROSS

1 Head of a parliamentary government (5,8) 10 Annoyance and disappointment (7) 11 Surgical knife (7) 12 Country of the pharaohs (5)

13 Tools used to turn screws (5,4)

14 Meaningless incantation (5,5)

17 Try to lose weight (4) 19 Twilight (4) 20 Meteorologist (10) 23 Queen of 12-across, mistress of Mark Antony (9) 25 Gold bar (5)

27 Reddish purple (7) 28 Spanish or Portuguese (7)

29 Reckless, unreliable (13)

DOWN

2 All set (5) 3 Long-distance race (8) 4 Very small portrait (9) 5 Of the nose (5) 6 Produces a mass of eggs (6)

7 Inoffensive or indirect expression (9)

8 Piercing cry (6)

9 Small storage room (6) 15 Courier, emissary (9) 16 Army division (9) 18 Disease caused by vitamin B1 deficiency (8) 19 Leave suddenly and secretly (6)

21 Jotting down (6) 22 Freeload (6)

24 Hobo (5) 26 Interrogate (5)