CLASSIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Bearded collie's blue yarn (6-3,5)

9 A vacuum to steer clear of (5)

10 Bird seed placed in tool (9) 11 Bristle burst small bubble (7)

12 Fruit loaf pinched, student involved (7)

13 Some chef is having halibut, for instance (4) 14 Arrogant ram is out wandering (9)

18 Washington state always environmentally friendly (9) 20 Laugh at imitation (4)

22 Head of government authorises place of execution (7)

25 Overheated, some prefer ventilation (7)

26 Hang around with partner (9)

27 Empty heavy article beside coastal town (5)

28 Render bib out of place in roast bird (5,9)

DOWN

1 Be quiet by church reportedly dingy (6)

2 A tedious person holding one drink for a native Australian (9)

3 Share the cost of game with European (2,5)

4 Nice to have beers laid out (9)

5 Jokes about northern mobs (5) 6 Outer garment provided by painter (7)

7 Drive back from dance bypassing centre of Skipton (5)

8 Boring head experienced thirst (7) 15 Easy-going when about to negotiate fee in dangerous area (9) 16 Those playing in the pit (9) 17 Nationality – possibly Bengali? (7) 19 Coaching without a stew of dumplings (7)

20 Walker returning stuff to woman (7) 21 Way to get spruce, say, set in stone (6)

23 Maiden to ring for western rope (5) 24 One grasped by celebrity in flight (5)

ACROSS

7 Shoulder coverings (6) 8 With traffic moving in a single direction only (3-3) 9 Wander (4)

10 Specialist hospital department (inits) (3)

11 ___ Kwouk, ‘Pink Panther’ actor (4)

12 Awards for bravery (6) 14 Public sign (6)

16 Sang-froid (6) 19 Boat-guiding device (6) 21 Abounding (with) (4) 23 Race (an engine) (3)

24 Old King ___, nursery rhyme character (4)

25 Back part of a gun (6)

26 Old name for England (6)

DOWN

1 Shiny metal plating (6) 2 Did the crawl, eg (4) 3 Items of value (6) 4 Chipping ___, gateway to the Cotswolds (6)

5 Any aromatic plant used in cookery (4) 6 Material (6)

13 Time past (3)

15 Small amount (3)

17 Tool used for gripping (6)

18 Arrivals into the world (6)

19 Disclose (6)

20 Anne ___, heroine of ‘Persuasion’ (6) 22 Biblical garden (4)

24 Novice reporters (4)