CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Have confidence in the RAF, say, being involved in espionage (6,7)

10 Fails to start off in narrow passages (5)

11 Wear out over time, but can come down a cataract (9)

12 Was a little girl able to have taken on a jobseeker? (9)

13 Head off to become stable, on purpose (5)

14 Live in a Welsh town in a low position (7)

16 Might a climber aim to run with one on line? (7)

18 Means to get the French organised to make fine coatings (7)

20 Gets weary with a top dog’s rants (7)

21 It was calamitous for a little boy to carry too much weight ... (5)

23 ... while a watchful little boy got a song, new to the common rank (9)

25 Could a minor crag be transformed into a high mountain? (9)

26 Makes a note of some pieces of news (5)

27 Can be of one mind, at first, up to a point, in a display of affability (13)

DOWN

2 Takes the place of some messengers in the Ruhr Valley (5)

3 Banish a peasant at the end from his place in college (9)

4 What top was used to run by the canal? (3-4)

5 Implore one to have the main course at the end (7)

6 Show enthusiasm, in fact, for a good mover. Very much so (5)

7 Reached out to a teetotaller, in short, with idle chat (9)

8 Sent a former pupil back to get reaction from inert treatment (7,6)

9 Don’t stay in bed so long, up to a point, if suffering from insomnia (13)

15 Close enough to object. It was a narrow escape (4,5)

17 Managed to return with a fixed allowance on account (9)

19 Did an Italian lady cross old artist? (7) 20 The Marines had a line to follow, up in the air? (7)

22 Left an African party, in the end, carrying a cavalry weapon (5)

24 Have a few designs inside a school (5)