WEE THINKER

Across

1 Appeal certain to bring happiness (8) 5 Turn, and suddenly go mad (4) 9 Sauce! Keeping very soft and sentimental (5) 10 Love to write tune outside (4-3) 11 Blades held in commando arsenal (4) 12 Very much enjoyed playing with her slide (8) 14 Poor, poor game by the Engineers (6) 15 Charm mother and Caledonian (6) 18 Alienate corrupt sergeant (8) 20 Man who’s useful decapitated! (4) 23 Beg for some proven treatment (7) 24 All go ahead, missing every other Honolulu greeting (5) 25 Come down hard as side announced (4) 26 Robust players getting heavy metal? (4-4)

Down

1 Sauce not separated when held back (5) 2 Opera I’m composing for trading centres (7) 3 River in Hades with farmyard feature that’s wrong (4) 4 Greek island with sound streets (6) 6 Dog’s lead found amongst cattle – a sheepdog’s (5) 7 Green gem with red top I shaped (7) 8 Claimed wrong doctor’s examination (7) 13 A fantasist? Yours truly in gloomy surroundings (7) 14 Sail pole supporting animal,

life-jacket needed (3,4) 16 Tory trip finding line on map (7) 17 Saga that engages Ms Christie (6) 19 Name of slate round junction (5) 21 Long story about the Orient (5) 22 Way of walking through door, did you say? (4)