CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Unhappy about a pupil’s food (5)

6 Humour a companion - a charmer! (5)

9 Go down as the originator

(7)

10 Blazing away (5)

11 Often dropped, never picked up (5)

12 They can swim, dear (5)

13 It moves people, in a small way (7)

15 We finish last in the rain (3)

17 To help out a raw beginner is uninteresting (4)

18 Where sailors may be almost out of earshot, somehow (6)

19 One of those pieces of eight (5)

20 Be good enough to carry on? (6)

22 Substantial amount of timber? (4)

24 Expertise, or pieces of adroitness (3)

25 Strength needed when struggling to copy out a number (7)

26 Look weary when you fall out of love (5)

27 Craze to which the airman possibly has no right! (5)

28 A note is not a full sized letter (5)

29 Applaud a lot, it’s Eric! (7)

30 Animal to see lame, maybe (5)

31 The Great Tchaikovsky, for instance? (5)

DOWN

2 Business relationship? (6) 3 Fearfully apologetic? (6) 4 John’s rabbit? (3)

5 Great stream of effortless industry (5)

6 Softest piece of cake in the West! (7)

7 Flag lady (4)

8 Will such a spaniel raise an attentive ear? (6)

12 Not a great performer, but he has been capped! (5) 13 When mum’s holding a bottle opener, it can be dangerous! (5)

14 Thing going wrong in the dark (5)

15 They bring much woe to us chaps (5)

16 Home entertainment can be said to have vision (5)

18 He told us the old, old stories (5) 19 How the “general” has command (7)

21 Not a single mistake! (6) 22 Make things clear if need may be (6)

23 Such service can keep Tommy busy (6)

25 Another of the flower girls (5)

26 On a roll, one may have them in hand (4)

28 Clean up for the dog (3)