CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

7 Alpine enthusiast after run, one more perilous (7) 10 Nothing goes with exotic orange herb (7)

11 Cut in a card game (7) 12 Nobleman, good lord pocketing currency (7) 13 Brain in folk hero William addled etc (9) 15 Without permission, taking the newspaper (5) 16 Novel — coxed pair perhaps? (5,3,2,1,4) 21 Observe something on a limb? (5)

23 Copy new procedure (9) 25 Monotony? Good time to pass round claret! (7) 26 Manx cat and I both, weirdly, live together (7) 27 Birds, fifty in snares (7) 28 Odd mountains, by the way (7)

DOWN

1 Rating so poor for musician (8) 2 Personification of QE2 that is seen in lake (4) 3 Reportedly, stronghold was involved in military action (6) 4 Quit role after beginnings in design engineering (6) 5 Agonised about

US city (3,5) 6 Straight in bath one’s thrown (6) 8 Quarrel about river fish (5) 9 Spoil hip, glued after replacement (7) 14 Sheep interrupting the wedding (3)

17 Shy leaving work (8) 18 Demon politician — this person must lead (3) 19 One more flower part, organ originally inside (7)

20 Decade passed in relationships (8) 21 Shake joint up that’s visited by bishop (6) 22 Secret I’d discovered initially guarded by female (6) 23 Careless, with respect to young lady (6)

24 Old pope from the city (5) 26 Group of players thrown out (4)