CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

No 16,284 WIN £500

ACROSS

1 Carve modern copy in home counties (8) 5 After German, Alice translated another language (6) 9 Monarch’s orbs reported to be extra large (4-4) 10 Put a cross next to it when playing for nothing (6) 12 Always the day before the middle of March (4) 13 Heathrow checkers increased, introducing about 100 (6,4) 15 Offered to collect card? That’s kind (13) 19 Flogging the best dairy product (8,5) 23 A key Satie transposed after tense rest (4,2,4) 25 One who’s principally known in Wellington institute? (4) 28 Two blokes in a tangle (6) 29 Not a good time to engage in banter (8) 30 It’s hard to find just what’s required in artillery lines (6) 31 Affair distressing lady? True (8)

DOWN

1 Printer in plane carrying king (3-3) 2 Maybe sight Poles going in to watch (5) 3 Trick American dealing with fences (4) 4 Strange place to barter in Turkey, some might say (7) 6 Stay away from a vacant space (5) 7 Busy girl at home almost revealing maths aid (9) 8 Spooner’s funny aspect talked about all over town (8) 11 Press turn up and keep quiet (4) 14 Party in the north retains one still (4) 15 Con man’s fake tickets taking in radical Republican (9) 16 Scrap first half of stew (3) 17 Give assistance to a Yankee, perhaps (4) 18 Cheat wrote about luring in chap (3-5) 20 Victor abandons book for Christmas (4) 21 Sweet sauce celeb put in cattle food (7) 22 Order rise to stop writer’s poverty (6) 24 Some container traffic’s unable to move (5) 26 Cross independent judge (5) 27 What’s prescribed for patient initially unwell? (4)