CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Waste-related reasoning after coast messed up (12) 9 Started in information technology, backing up detailed detail (9) 10 Opening remarks to Nicola initially taken the wrong way (5) 11 Out of shape, losing speaker? (6) 12 God features in prayer a lot (8) 13/18 First 15Dn to face 9Dn, Our St Boris? (6,7) 14 Princess Royal’s return to Hull - something to get her going (5,3) 17 Falling over the bar could lead to punishment (4,4) 19 Outlook quietly adopted by a religious group (6) 21 Check out the Top 40, where characters are ever-decreasing (3,5) 23 Military Intelligence policy centres with European Union setting (6) 25 Set back about a year? Boots’ carry spare ones (5) 26 Up to one’s hips – abnormal height around start of day a record! (5-4) 27 Something to strike amid chaos, perhaps, or else is bent on confusion (8,4)

DOWN

2 After Cold Mountain I follow with fast food (6,3) 3 Attempts to take vacant Adriatic port (7) 4 Something to draw a crowd? (4) 5 I fled gas explosion, creating irritants (8) 6 See 24 7 Twice-weekly chance of drunken blackout (5) 8 See 15 9 It’s involving MP – terrible menace and hothead leading to possible removals from office (12) 15/8 Quiet-living professor, a Liberal Democrat, periodically Tory in spring, third to face 9Dn? (9,6,1,5) 16 Biscuit demolished at a time round midafternoon (8) 18 See 13 Across 20 A saint, with wickedness all around (7) 22 Love god going round youth centre for French bread (5) 24/6 Second 15Dn to face 9Dn, invoice client without electronic working (4,7)

MACBETH

Down: 1 Imps 2 Mane 3 Cryptography 4 Loose 5 Tradesman 7 Addressees 8 Prehensile 11 Standardised 13 Scrapbooks 14 Disprove it 16 Ignorance 21 Other 22 Talc 23 Emus