Solution will appear in MetroPlus tomorrow. Solution No. 10981
Across
1 Loving Ray (anag) — idle
boastfulness (9)
8 Young girl (4)
9 US State (3,6)
10 Costly (but loved!) (4)
13 Unpleasant person (5)
15 Meagre (6)
16 It’s used to make leather
soft and waterproof (6)
17 As zero (anag) (6)
19 Lay waste (6)
20 Mass of loose rocks at the
base of a cliff (5)
21 Principal role in a play (4)
24 Break down (9)
25 Typical pattern (4)
26 Quitter (9)
Down
2 Throat clearing sound to
catch attention (4)
3 Amen (anag) (4)
4 Unnecessary indulgence (6)
5 Tormented (6)
6 Shaft of light or electromechanic
radiation (5,4)
7 A nerd gets (anag) —
separated (9)
11 Dreadful (9)
12 Egyptian queen, d. 30 BC (9)
13 Weeps (5)
14 Insects in the inactive
stage of development (5)
18 Wheel and deal (6)
19 Distant (6)
22 Narrow strip of land
projecting into the sea (4)
23 Enquires (4)
