CRYPTIC CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1 Students of quality? (5)
6 Be a drifter? (5)
9 Deceive, only to comfort or encourage (7)
10 Is the piano one soft? (5)
11 Freely available, like H or C (2,3)
12 The whole range or number a tug can hold (5)
13 It seems, sir, that a cuppa is costly on the Continent! (7)
15 It’s noisy in this part of the plane (3)
17 Monarchial, at heart roguish (4)
18 Hardly difficult to find? (6)
19 What a screen may be made of (5)
20 Dangerous things to carry (6)
22 Pests having a bit of a race on the motorway (4)
24 It’s a pity, that is, Sadie’s lost (3)
25 Fish to fatten you? (7)
26 Last opportunity, before starting lunch, to get a seat (5)
27 Heavenly cartoon character (5)
28 The kid with the can (5)
29 Due to such steering, I crashed into a crater! (7)
30 Prepares to publish changes in the tides? (5)
31 Puts up with certain speculators (5)
DOWN
2 The second earl crashed out of the race! (6)
3 Spoil a good drink? (6)
4 Sunny little chap (3)
5 He’s a shining figure (5)
6 What an offended woman may do, being attached to a dress? (7)
7 Furnished or let, to accommodate a motherless man (4)
8 Like figures on watch, perhaps (6)
12 Tiny organisms that get right inside stones (5)
13 Fasteners in zigzag form? (5)
14 Though bitter, help out with credit (5)
15 It has to be borne (5)
16 Negative, but always to the point (5)
18 Sort of cap for a bonehead? (5)
19 Parts with shifty escorts (7)
21 Caught in endless dishonest dealing (6)
22 Many a girl’s spite (6)
23 Caller wandering downstairs? (6)
25 Surprisingly bright little fish? (5)
26 Let it stand the test, possibly (4)
28 In the Bible, a protector (3)
YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION
ACROSS: 4. Scru-MP 7. Portrait 8. At-tack 10. Crabs 13. Lira 14. Earl 15. Aide 16. Mew 17. Oast 19. Bray 21. Horse-play 23. Mama 24. Ru-ed 26. Mad 27. Grab 29. A-rum 32. Foal 33. Brun-O 34. Late-NT 35. Every-man 36. Matt-Ed.
DOWN: 1. Space 2. Fria-R 3. Eros 4. St.-aid 5. Rot-a (rev.) 6. Mickey 9. Treble 11. RAF 12. Bloo-M 13. L-iter-al 15. Ass 16. May 18. Aragon 20. R-Ada-R 21. Had 22. Pu-b 23. Manana 25. Sun 28. Rated 30. Rum-my 31. Mount 32. Felt 33. Burn.