Cryptic Crossword - The Scotsman 06/09/13

Across

1 Live a lot, get excited and become skittish (8)

5 Investigated police officer involved with heads of Scottish Education Department (6)

10 Allow in again to study at American university (7)

11 Leave idiot to assemble manuscript concerning objective symbols (7)

12 Love to fuss about (5)

13 Bertie almost gets into line _________ he’s a rake (9)

14 Is focal fire etc ordered to be classified information? (8,6)

17 Get electric wires muddled up? It may make you pay dearly (6,3,5)

21 Restaurant making money, situated on lake (9)

23 Old English tax collection went more or less pear-shaped (5)

24 Kidnaps sailor with pipes (7)

25 Visualise how one of the wise men goes in a certain direction (7)

26 Town of the French visited at twelve o’clock (6)

27 In the optimum way, take large fireproofing material (8)

DOWN

1 Spoken bravely, not finishing confused (6)

2 Be first in field to perform very loudly (4,3)

3 Interfering causes mayhem in gap term (9)

4 Not much excitement derived from low-earning account (6,8)

6 Brace for tossing this? (5)

7 First minister seen in kind of sleep on jetty (7)

8 Leaves sugar in puddings (8)

9 The woman’s almost follically-challenged soldier perishes as a result of complementary medicines (6,8)

15 Cooks are able to provide more details (9)

16 Where to put sword into blackleg poet (8)

18 Leave while musicians are playing (7)

19 White Russian gathers ethnic dress in race (7)

20 Observe dog, for example, lying down in wigwams (6)

22 Society will knock out what’s really impressive on the street (5)

Thursday’s solution:

ACROSS: 1 Learn one’s lesson, 9 Counted, 10 Earning, 11 Onerous, 12 Payment, 13 Tasman, 14 Defended, 16 Stations, 18 Pirate, 22 Cantata, 23 Inertia, 24 Reading, 25 Pierrot, 26 Disinterestedly.

DOWN: 1 Lock out, 2 Amulets, 3 Nationalisation, 4 Nodose, 5 Steeples, 6 Early retirement, 7 Stipend, 8 Negated, 15 Entangle, 16 Secured, 17 Anneals, 19 Attired, 20 Exactly, 21 Simple