£100 PRIZE CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 A sail westwards to identify a swindler’s false identity (5) 4 A good deal from the pub profit (7) 8 Lea nips off to get plants from the mountains (7) 9 A guardsman without guns? This could be a serious play (5) 10 Whoops it up, or returns to the MPs (5) 11 A furry animal from Down Under that rips the moss up (6) 14 Worry excessively? Yes, we sat shaking (5) 16 Foreign faces in the small French eateries (5) 18 Like the UK after Brexit, as shown in the negotiation hold-up (2,4) 21 Try really unusual roast octopus initially in Cornwall’s city (5) 24 Stony broke and going to see Mike, the former world boxing champ (5) 25 Puts some clothes on and makes the salad more tasty (7) 26 I drag Ma round to view the pictorial plan (7) 27 Clinch a deal perhaps – so, out of bed, we hear (3,2)

DOWN

1 Slightly open, to see a container for the jam (4) 2 Become better at something and prove I’m in front (7) 3 Dan’s tip about creating a children’s play area (7) 4 You’ll find some of Cuba’s enemies in a military post (4) 5 Dario damaged a dashboard device for the car (5) 6 Spirited horses for the Bedouins, say (5) 7 A narrowly avoided collision with a female teacher close to home (4,4) 12 Some exciting adventures – primarily where the buoys are! (3) 13 Accompanied from a weird secret do (8) 15 Did a turn in Gogarburn, way back when (3) 16 Floor coverings, possibly precast (7) 17 Predicted a war with foes in chaos (7) 19 A shade-loving plant – hydrangea or sedum? Try anemones, first of all (5) 20 An antisocial guy? Put one in the Land Rover initially (5) 22 It’s mad! A comeback for the Paradise Lost man (4) 23 A spa gets constructed without delay (1,1,1,1)