Cryptic crossword

ACROSS

1 Part of 12 Down dries up (7)

5 Quiet comfortable place to

relax, not old dive (6)

9 Heading home in spring (7)

10 Money’s collected roughly in

the neighbourhood (7)

11 Witness match bet (3)

12 Species found in different

homes with pianos (4,7)

13 Biscuit made from a few nuts

and last bit of butter (5)

14 Improve image of priest at

sexy big dance (9)

16 Ladies perhaps feel silly holding a sort of binder (5-4)

17 Hemingway abandoned Spain to find German artist (5)

19 Improvident tramp lacking

rupees goes after more (11)

22 Stitch up three quarters (3)

23 Give title to benevolent

comic, not vet (7)

24 Start song outdoors (4,3)

26 Vivacity of Welsh persists,

ignoring odd features (6)

27 Everlasting contribution to

language lessons (7)

DOWN

1 Repair a ship in willow bark —

it’s a cutter (7)

2 Happy in Belfast working with

old early part of book (5,2,8)

3 Bird hides among chrysanthemums (3)

4 Plant used to be scattered on

motorway (5)

5 Complete holiday in Warsaw?

(6,3)

6 Remove top headgear that’s

blue? (5)

7 Old Ken hangs head, sacked?

This’ll defray his debts (6,9)

8 Bouquet Henry lifted contains

head of scented herb (6)

12 Animal rider at first appears

in tights (5)

14 Stop a student entering common (9)

15 Man endlessly turns up in the

Open (5)

16 First person on radio producing German songs (6)

18 Approaching sign for visitors

in hospital? (7)

20 Cautionary signal from hiker

avoiding lake (5)

21 Meeting place in Athens defended by Pythagoras (5)

25 First woman’s last to leave

flat (3)