CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Last man on roundabout. Not quite (6) 4 May emerge to help harvest fruit (8)

9 It’s foul, we hear, to prohibit a little boy (6) 10 Painters have little energy to perform, at some stage (8)

12 Go straight to one side in Brighton, say (5) 13 Gets upset about getting the wrong directions (9)

14 May have to settle on a royal chain (7) 15 Won back a garment from ancient Rome (4) 19 At length, a story might get into the picture (4)

21 Have to calm down a model, in position (7) 24 Watery adhesive material, but don’t know what it’s called (9)

26 Get a cleaner on a 24-hour basis (5) 27 About to be transferred to eastern district, initially, but he didn’t like it (8)

28 From top down, it can take a long time to make a thick soup (6)

DOWN

1 Asian sea contains 11 down, relating to trees (8)

2 Copes with first-rate supervisors (8) 3 Tuner maps out a way to get brighter (7,2) 5 Is intent on hearing before retreat. I’m serious (7)

6 Italian runner, in time, will get up to the mark (5)

7 A stallion, for instance, has to 20 down on line (6)

8 The others take only one second to withstand pressure (6)

11 Drill into a block (or rock, even) initially (4) 16 Readings about old characters can be imposing (9)

17 Confirm that a girl had one engagement (8)