QUICK CLUES

ACROSS

1 Impediment, obstacle (9,5)

10 Victor (9)

11 Examination of business accounts (5)

12 Contract one’s muscles (4)

13 Depravity, dissoluteness (10)

16 One who looks on the bright side (8)

17 Reproductive cell (6)

20 Half asleep (6)

21 Pre-eminent one in a group (8)

23 Troublesome, obstreperous (10)

24 Reverse the effects of (4)

26 Tropical fruit (5)

28 Musical theatre for children, usually at Christmas (9)

29 Laid too much stress on (14)

DOWN

2 Having an intentionally controversial bias (11)

3 Loose scrum in rugby (4)

4 Generous bestowal of gifts (8)

5 Ordinary, usual (6)

6 Jelly-like dessert (10)

7 Ancient (3)

8 Pooled fund of petty cash (5)

9 Temporary framework erected around a building (8)

14 Huge and ponderous (11)

15 Castrate (10)

18 Business owner in charge of a workforce (8)

19 Former Yugoslav republic (8)

22 Intensify, escalate (4,2)

23 In hiding and keeping quiet (5)

25 Master of a Hindu system of exercise and meditation (4)

27 Beer (3)

YESTERDAY’S SOLUTION

Across: - 1 Plumber. 5 Panacea. 9 Exclamation mark. 10 Sham. 11 Journeyman. 13 Doggerel. 14 Frieze. 17 Ordain. 18 Virulent. 21 Photograph. 23 Twig. 25 Palaeontologist. 26 Resumed. 27 Frisson.

Down: - 1 Pleased. 2 Unchanged. 3 Boar. 4 Reasoned. 5 Pliers. 6 Nonferrous. 7 Charm. 8 Askance. 12 Peritoneum. 15 Edelweiss. 16 Disproof. 17 On paper. 19 Tighten. 20 Pruned. 22 Ogles. 24 Roti.