CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

6 New road by shy, plucky heroes in books (5,4)

8 Particle in domestic rum bottle (5)

10 Cosmetic Mom put around a mark (7)

11 Upset as Spurs beat (7)

12 Discover tragic king and queen’s end (5)

13 Flag-waving picture outside at civil uproar (9)

15 All excited, Terry meets a writer of children’s books (11)

20 Take apart England’s last reworked salt mine (9)

22 Arabs roaming around place in Iraq (5)

23 Flamboyant figure in espionage carrying whip (7)

25 Lee’s picking up gum, peanuts, beans and such (7)

26 Loop in a rodeo ring caught by instinct (5)

27 French town depicted plucky heroine in books (5,4)

DOWN

1 Illegally enter resort, breaking lock (8)

2 Waiter’s wish: open tab, tip adjusted (3,7)

3 Questions fool about king (4)

4 Southern metropolis divided by auto shortage (8)

5 Mongrel possessing an unusual offspring (6)

6 Musical note in sacred sermon (6)

7 Long trip around the sun with NASA’S Vanguard (5) 9 Simple stuff, as in cheap pens (6)

14 High point for trees’ years outside of Berlin (10)

16 Sporty car ad in team listing (8)

17 “Sorry me,” a sad appellation for a girl (8)

18 Inventor no faction backed (6)

19 European city conflict observed (6)

21 Tavern promptly admits Al (6)

22 Stroller full of flaws (5)

24 Suddenly remove player in pinstripes (4)