CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Youth has a view about being caught on benefits (11) 9 Begs for approval, we hear (5) 10 Fool returned, being covered by celebrity in mini-dictionary (8) 12 Eccentric, as Bobby may be at home (3-4) 13 Most boring involvement lust led to (7) 14 Unexpected development when idiot adopts son (5) 15 No-hoper gets only fish (5,4) 18 Bloody knock-on effect, perhaps, when noble seed’s broken down (9) 20 Enormous gap has appeared within a centimetre (5) 21 Pity sits awkwardly when one’s lost office workers (7) 24 Runs hurriedly, heading off with hot food (7) 25 I’ve gone back into ball to show contrariness (8) 26 Old Peruvian to run for entertainment, say, during journey (2-3) 27 Shout – cry of pain – loud, always given with deadly virus (6,5)

DOWN

2 Pudding that’s very dry until sugar’s added (7) 3 Cambridge fire conservative (5,4) 4 Placed vertically? Ellipsis contains nothing when placed vertically (5) 5 Letter from Greece piles on agony (7) 6 Enchantress left out of social group (5) 7 Post Office in recession at Leith, for example, has one chance (11) 8 Those who spend a lot of time in pubs may throw up? Not true! (8) 11 Speak to skinflint of unknown total wet blanket (5,6) 16 He scammed in planning crazy venture (3,6) 17 Belonging to the same kind of Scots lunch snack (2,1,5) 19 What’s recommended for one, a learner, is brutish (7) 20 Architectural moulding built on 6 (7) 22 View first lady when under writing exercises (5) 23 Wickedness you are said to have committed showing physical strength (5)