CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Hurdles by piano playing jazz

composition (8,2,4) 8 Scoundrel felt sick about time

stopped short (9)

9 Taxes rings (5)

11 Got to the bottom

of fruit layer (7)

12 Jailbird keeps lips red (7) 13 Contradict awful brute (5)

15 Visitor estimated aloud (5) 18 Big mess, as fun goes awry (5) 19 Agassi appearing in grand

reunion (5)

22 New satchel fasteners (7) 23 Nicolas admits our bravery (7) 24 Pacino's into South American

music for dancing (5) 25 Representative flyboy:

Mr. Fixit (9)

26 Composer Grieg's genre: how

strange (6,8)

DOWN

1 Set of instructions Pierce

adapted (6) 2 Greek house Seurat

transformed (6)

3 Traumatize bass oboe at first, demanding pleasant

English ballad (11,4)

4 Note was first passed out (5) 5 Pointed out one held by

accused (9)

6 Object coated in honey gold draws swimsuit contestants (7,8)

7 Private duel isn't

out of order (8)

10 Boy present for a concert

piece (6) 14 Military bigwigs in front of lake

tavern (9)

16 Sacred songs, by the way, help

for the poor (6)

17 Live outside of a quiet

French fort (8) 20 Attention-getting words for a stooge from a speaker stack up in a barn? (6)

21 Support article penned

by Uris (4,2)

23 Police parked next to empty patch of woods (5)