Wednesday 2 September

Across

7 A better plan – finally – to stop game hunters (4,4) 9 Bears controlling hunger – they eat carrion (6) 10 Crew fitting angle brackets (4) 11 Just dread spending days working in dark (10) 12 Rogue bully by boxing ring (6) 14 Two nurses ignoring half of my request (8) 15/17 Become the best by baking bread or a little rock cake (5,1,6) 20 Watches musical’s opening night – that’s when these things shine! (4-4) 22 Live in Le Mans – and the VW? (6) 23 Cartoon dog bites old woman clutching cat food in tins? (4,6) 24 Large hole in one tie (4) 25 Part of stag party in strip club getting wrecked in just seconds (6) 26 Drive a good line in test of acceleration (4,4)

Down

1 Combat manoeuvres – keeping watch regularly in caves? (8) 2 Tight biceps after lifting (4) 3/16 Question weaker body? Try exercising. (One probably sits with a computer all day) (6,8) 4/22 This suggests he took bat for discipline (5,3,4,2) 5 Imagine taking group of drivers north on M1 to see Coral’s relative? (3,7) 6 Keep everything in pathetic pocketbook (6) 8/19 Tesla isn’t working with NYC borough (6,6) 13 Mother might express this clumsily – be smart and kind (6,4) 18 Refinement represented Cecil Day … (8) 21 … Lewis’s character – conclusively yet obliquely (6) 24 Decide to swap hands and draw (4)