THE CROSSWORDS

PUZZLE 16831

CRYPTIC CLUES ACROSS

1 High points of the Danse Macabre (5) 8 Adjusted poor rate for a worker (8)

9 Begin painting a good man first (5)

10 Stop abruptly when time-out is cancelled (5,3)

11 A purchaser is said to have an Arab garment (5)

12 Serpent that has poison inside (3)

16 In opera Eugene shows singular spirit (6) 17 Claire makes a cake (6)

18 A man belted at karate (3)

23 The kind of crust found only on the best pies? (5)

24 One doesn’t hear it when it’s dropped (8) 25 Hell! It’s the wrong shade (5)

26 Doing without because working (8)

27 This town is but a quarter of another (5)

DOWN

2 Mark closely - a bent one needs straightening (4,4)

3 Childhood interest of archaeologists? (5,3) 4 Playwright initially types out plays (6) 5 Slav is a poor actor (5)

6 Increase keenness (5)

7 Ill-gotten gains added to the stock (5) 12 With an initial dividend (3)

13 A writer put in prison (3)

14 Punish a child just a little for being careless (8)

15 Score one less (8)

19 Temporary work in the theatre (6)

20 I was put out about noisy strays (5)

21 A high point of religious architecture (5) 22 Bad ignition (5)

QUICK CLUES ACROSS

1 Main impact (5) 8 Semi-formal evening dress (5,3) 9 Publicly acknowledged (5) 10 Attempt to escape (3,3,2) 11 Remain valid (5) 12 Flat-topped conical red cap (3) 16 Government department (6) 17 Eloquent public speaker (6) 18 Sticky substance (3)

23 River of Paris (5) 24 Incident in Boston 1773 (3,5) 25 English poet 1788-1824 (5) 26 US Gold Bullion Depository (4,4) 27 Landing pier (5)

DOWN

2 Sound genuine (4,4)

3 It’s not surprising (2,6) 4 Charm (6)

5 Speak derisively (5) 6 Look fixedly (5)

7 Big and strong (5) 12 Stuffy atmosphere (3) 13 Menagerie (3) 14 Charlotte Brontë novel (4,4) 15 Draw attention to (5,3) 19 Choice (6)

20 Difficult (5)

21 Ward off (5)

22 Armour (5)