CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Promise broken by English poet

with red and purple flower (10) 6 Stretch of quasi-arid land in the

East (4) 9 Top eleven embraced by mother

with flower (7) 10 Tie up an unruly flower (7) 12 Likings for swan songs? (9) 13 Blossom with a Top-Fortyish

sound (5) 14 Tip of tulip eaten by female deer

and fawns? (5) 16 Ron’s album, sadly, not up to par

(9) 19 Assuming failure, get “Uncle!” out and go down on one knee (9) 20 Flower our group planted be

hind parcel of land (5) 21 Going back, expose the weak

ness of potato or dahlia root (5) 23 Black African writer’s good for

tune (9) 26 Brave person holding ace is go

between (7) 27 California wine for an Italian

novelist (7) 28 Add grass to a drink from a

fountain (4) 29 Bugs on Grandpa’s flower (10)

DOWN 1 Shorten segment of The Mup

pets (3,2) 2 Show that you know about crossing place in Kentucky (9) 3 Energy reading from a broken speedometer? (5) 4 Breaking ice, miners talk about the old days (9) 5 English diarist chirps out loud (5) 7 Dawn spun out of control around horseshoe curve (3-2) 8 Everything is interrupted by Mary’s blooming plant (9) 11 Dirt spot ruined painting (7) 14 Go for it—boxing champ’s gloveshaped flower (9) 15 Wilderness trips to a distant place taken by member of the fam (7) 17 Flower is flatter when getting

cold (9) 18 Sort of bean, including very

small one, rising up (9) 22 Carry down feature of some

irises (5) 23 Kingsley in West African land

(5) 24 Sort of energy loss in skyrocket

(5) 25 Disdain second lame attempt at

humour (5)