DAILY MAIL CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Atrocious ambassador in America grasps nothing (7) 5 Purchase mushrooms by phone — they give you power (6) 9 Bureaucracy got narrower after exchange of parts (3,4) 10 Duck and herons fly towards the land (7) 11 Periods in history are recalled (3) 12 Eatery from which awful pong rose, say? (6,5) 13 Dismisses revolutionary part of letter (5) 14 Ruth uses a different reference book for writers (9) 16 Guy keeps one page, then another, for national emblem (5,4) 17 Quietly cocky, it goes for whelp (5) 19 Junior diplomat to inspect document carrier (7,4) 22 Article you and I dread (3) 23 Legal document, German one, to correspond with paper? (5,2) 24 Rubbish on bottom part of sleeping accommodation (4,3) 26 A Kipling character, short lad with arms poking out (6) 27 Having got new handle, bloke goes back to cut grass (7)

DOWN

1 Runs over northern and southern tack (7) 2 Twisted cord kept in air in illusion (6,4-5) 3 Cells hidden in Slovakia (3) 4 Riddle is given up the night before (5) 5 He looks everywhere under ‘British Female’ part of library (9) 6 Way to cut company’s expenditure (5) 7 Chum, lazy type, nicks popular old chart and picture book (10,5) 8 Wrong trap upset game (6) 12 Skipper loses runs, making mistake (5) 14 Played tune to her in addition once (9) 15 Liberal politician tucked into beer (5) 16 Old wife in Siam translated calls by Persian maybe (6) 18 Bore backed down (7) 20 The best 100 sheets (5) 21 Walker left out cautionary signal (5) 25 Old lady’s notes include one (3)

PRIZES of £20 will be awarded to the senders of the first three correct solutions checked. Solutions to: Daily Mail Prize Crossword No. 15,853, PO BOX 3451, Norwich, NR7 7NR. Entries may be submitted by second-class post. Envelopes must be postmarked...