CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

1 Treat dud jaws in need of solution – prepare solution (4,3,5)

9 Academic woolly after drink (7) 10 Agent pushing floor-covering may be a snake (7)

11 Structure that protects 21 from underground infiltrator (4)

12 Let first field be left unplanted (5) 13 Raining around the south or another direction (4)

16 Duck about nothing at appearance of motorbike (7)

17 Fat I can work off if really zealous (7) 18 Diana’s sorted out smartie (7)

21 At first High-grove is refuge (7) 23 What’s seen on centre stage is very French (4)

24 Spoils sprints one’s entered (5) 25 Capitals by every river? Not this capital (4) 28 Hurried back at speed to tell story (7) 29 Being prickly, back installation of operating system (7)

30 Fail to catch train with Candida – some bird! (6,6)

DOWN

2 Painter who used upper case instrument (7) 3 Session expression (4)

4 Laird travelled about with me in posh car (7) 5 Hold at bay when part of hospital’s not operating (4,3)

6 To drink to excess or to take exercise? (4) 7 Object covered by hire is clothing (7) 8 Footballers’ hairstyle, perhaps, seen in the far west (6,6)

9 Answer to flat battery, say, when first pregnant (4,8) 14 Arises from blocks (5)

15 Not moving, in emergency room, on front of table (5)

19 Proposition about hot meteor swarm (7) 20 They sue when losing sleep (4-3) 21 Offers alien part of phone (7)

22 Fur animals officer nicked when retired (7) 26 Depletes energy, maybe, returning to pampering places (4)

27 It may be shed, we hear, in rank (4)