CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Playing cards during a tennis match? (6)

A hero, but in this case a drawback (8)

So long, and thanks again (4)

Form of halo in the bathroom! (6)

Comfort for a little chap by an expert (6)

Tasty? No thanks! (3) Free half of beer for a biker (5)

Pale due to having a fling? (4)

Poorer rhyme for a purse (5) Stick a duck into a vessel! (5)

22 Appeal touchingly (5)

23 A smaller dog than Patch? (4)

Something afoot – e.g., wrecking boats (5) Piece of pleasant land (3) Merchant possibly tarred? (6)

A month with a broken leg could be hard on the nerves (6)

Leer at a playing error by the French (4)

Fish lake a female would presumably own (8) Vessels coming to a tragic end in hasty manoeuvring? (6) 7 8 10 11

14 16

17

19 21 26

28 29

30 31 32 33

DOWN

1

2 3

4

Ali had to make a bloomer (6)

Clever about boats? (6) Even the top man can make a hash (4)

Again signals one’s sorrow (7) 5 6 8 9

12 13

15 18 19

20 21 Like the days of Sarah, these modern times (5)

It slithers around (in summer?) (5)

Sort of nonsense to silence! (4)

Large stream of volunteers on the third of May (3) The unbelievable part? (3) A big fiddle leaving little room for love (5) Entertainment no good during an emergency broadcast! (5)

When refined, is it dearest? (5)

A little packing for the inner man? (3)

Animal in a meteoric rise (3) One able to retrace his line of business? (7)