Monday 23 February

Across

1 Who might describe figures as ‘bad streak’ (6) 5 Finish off beer with beet and fish (8) 9 One who delivers wine and drugs by continental sea (8) 10 How you should enter this top grade bridge (6) 11 Day in Oxford, say, by car – and Slough – showing no sign of wear (12) 13 See 2 Down (4,) 14 Firmness shown by figure, one connected to Kyiv, say (8) 17 Marshal, atishoo’s just under way – bless me, silly! (8) 18 See 2 Down (4,) 20 Trust a sailor to provide a basis for making advances to you! (6,6) 23 Fibre fair loosened a fellow inside (6) 24 ‘Twelfth Night character heading off North with article’ – making of an opera? (8) 25 It can stand the heat like old footballer of Spurs initially (8) 26 Say aloud ‘move somewhere else’ to the audience (6)

Down

2 Don’t open one’s gin – and not a word! (4,4,4,4) 3 Time up: helper needs to change emperor’s habit (3,6) 4 Rye: mad to introduce the drink cure! (6) 5 Amateurish PC met with destruction – it has no application, practically (4,11) 6 Being a student, inclined to cover only one essential school subject? (8) 7 Singers lacking top C – God! (5) 8 Civil trade refutes plc (10) 12 Where travellers have a choice of old British soap? (10) 15 CERN icy – go mad: “It’s concerning what extreme cold can do!”’ (9) 16 Purloin a work of art (8) 19 Arthur dramatically married (no better afterwards) (6) 21 Entry of ‘female’ in dictionary rejected by eastern writer (5) 22 See 2 (4)