Cryptic crossword - The Scotsman 22/12/12

ACROSS

8 Charlie embaced a padre (8)

9 Track heartless fugitive (6)

10 Cook is in Bank of Scotland (6)

11 Move apart, see to become this (8)

12 Continue to talk too much (2,2)

13 Secretary misspelt haphazardly, it has new writing on (10)

15 Decapitated parrot behind bars in the picture (7)

17 and 20 Mail off letterhead round to naval officer (7,2,3,5)

22 and 24 In addition to being doubly superior (4,3,5)

26 In the north, wackiness can hit hard (6)

27 Deprived fellow in round cap (6)

28 Lord’s innkeeper? (8)

DOWN

1 Arthur’s outing covers northern town (6)

2 Choice Alan found was not compulsory (8)

3 and 4 Hoggish way to become extremely greedy (4,1,3,2,7)

5 Hold squirming prig (4)

6 Painter’s entry cut short (6)

7 Aficionado playing it as a musical composition in free form (8)

14 Thoughtful replacing date and time about four (10)

16 One hurting another’s feelings is criminal (8)

18 One with Ronald has task to be undertaken on ornamental gates (8)

19 and 21 Place two points from cloud nine? (7,6)

23 Avoid revolutionary in three different directions (6)

25 Four-lettered swear-word (4)

Friday’s solution:

Across: 1 Press the flesh, 10 Lassitude, 11 Folio, 12 Gunners, 13 Shorten, 14 Overdo, 16 Contract, 18 Truncate, 20 Pursue, 23 Nairobi, 24 Rainbow, 26 Opals, 27 Gradients, 28 Tear up the road.

Down: 2 Resin, 3 Stipend, 4 Truest, 5 Emersion, 6 Left out, 7 Salt tears, 8 A leg to stand on, 9 round the twist, 15 Elucidate, 17 String up, 19 Crosser, 21 Unifier, 22 Preach, 25 Bonza.

Last week’s solution:

Across: 1 Cross the rubicon, 9 Chamois, 10 Bahrain, 11 Epistle, 12 Connive, 13 On one’s last legs, 15 Petit bourgeois, 21 Cheerio, 22 Machete, 23 Fatness, 24 Lunatic, 25 Christmas Island.

Down: 1 Cycled, 2 Ovation, 3 Sporting targets, 4 Hostess, 5 Rebecca, 6 Behind-the-scenes, 7 Cyanide, 8 Nonsense, 14 Specific, 16 Tweeter, 17 Opossum, 18 Romulus, 19 Inertia, 20 De-iced.