CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Grave remedy vet gives to bedraggled moggy? (8) 5 Snack, a favourite in greyhound stadium? (3,3) 9 Court building, big one, containing duke’s fuel store (8) 10 Shelter from sea battle once, ceding power (4-2) 12 Part of film dealing with the Spanish (4) 13 Insert hand in a 12 to gain access (10) 15 Busy river parasites provide around one hundred (6,7) 19 It stops scaling tree after snow flurries (5,8) 23 Thorough old workers’ colony cherishes gold stone (10) 25 Government’s arguing about specialist (4) 28 Correct line adopted by priest (6) 29 Cut tree back to win English game (8) 30 One youngster’s hooked by an old martial art (6) 31 Like following planet Mercury, source of jack-o’-lantern (5,3)

DOWN

1 Playwright, one without bottle? (6) 2 Old lines absent from novelist’s turn of phrase (5) 3 Reproduce work in city lacking it (4) 4 Doctor admits large ring’s pleasing on the ear (7) 6 Ended tango in public (5) 7 Noise ruined racing conveyance for mealson-wheels? (6,3) 8 Travel round Spain with setter to test some maths (8) 11 See round this writer’s wedding car maybe (4) 14 Slight feature of drunk’s speech? (4) 15 Ground for Kent opener’s haymaker (9) 16 Cancel fixture involving German XI (3) 17 Reserves discovered without second-incommand (4) 18 Nice old man guards European plant (5,3) 20 People swear it’s a hot novel (4) 21 Worker’s about to take control of state eatery (7) 22 Barristers? They conceal bits (6) 24 Turn over more expensive object (5) 26 It’s hard to grasp some of this language (5) 27 One lives around bay primarily (4)