CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

Thursday’s solution (15,396) ACROSS:

1 Approval. 5 Caucus. 9 Underage. 10 Crimea. 12 Them. 13 Caricature. 15 Profitsharing. 19 Ventriloquist. 23 On the money. 25 Czar. 28 Icicle. 29 River bed. 30 Sheath. 31 Username.

DOWN:

1 Acuity. 2 Padre. 3 Okra. 4 Afghani. 6 Aorta. 7 Communist. 8 Scavenge. 11 Miss. 14 Boar. 15 Pinstripe. 16 Too. 17 Arid. 18 Avionics. 20 Loot. 21 Queries. 22 Trudge. 24 Eclat. 26 Zebra. 27 Sear.

ACROSS

1 Divert, following popular position of advantage (6,5) 9 Group in Afghanistan Tony

met? The opposite (7) 10 Wild boar rest fitfully either

side of Welsh river (7) 11 A certain person performing

overture finally (3) 12 Upright piano tuner worked

without one (7) 13 Setter’s editor keeps 11

flush (7) 14 Note beginners in Sydney

opera house (3) 15 Jumper entertains Delaware

horse show (5) 17 Furnish joke online? (5) 18 Union notice standards

ignored by Queen (5) 20 Top players had a meal

before noon (1-4) 22 Spain neglects modern resort

(3) 24 Start broadcast outdoors

(4,3) 25 Catch husband making

mistake (7) 26 Creamy-white, not yellow

plant (3) 27 Boat and plane guard conservative citizen (7) 28 NT book English saint carried

in mass (7) 29 Train an exotic pet, one Dickens called ‘great’ (11)

DOWN

1 Their angle can be different or

the same (15) 2 Legislator’s reason to get

mad about Tory leader (7) 3 Claude Monet, enthralling

master (5) 4 Closed church protecting old

carved pillar (5,4) 5 Lack something that can make

you conspicuous (7) 6 Keep calm, coaching sporty

UK heroine (4,4,5,2) 7 French author holds power in

university (6) 8 Exhausted energy in American

party (4,2) 16 Help upset reviewer showing

sign of stress, perhaps (9) 18 Check on tissue by screening

current operations (6) 19 Small fish more expensive?

Reorganisation needed (5-2) 21 Rifle market in Italy (7) 23 Someone with a perspective

over river (6) 25 He clashed with any animal

that scavenges (5)