The Sunday Crossword No 3100, Sunday 17 May 2020

Day 54 of 54 Stay safe at home

ACROSS
1   The Right Stuff and Top Gun aged badly (3-2-3-2) GET-UP-AND-GO*
6   What to say to a horse while holding on anxiously, primarily? (4) WHOA Acrostic &lit
9   Period during which you might have an unpleasant shock? (3,4,3) BAD HAIR DAY [C&DD]
10 For starters, alcoholic sparkling tincture, Italian (4) ASTI Acrostic Semi&lit
11 Singer confused bride with shrug in church (5,2,5) CHRIS DE BURGH {BRIDE+SHRUG}* in {CH}
15 Tragic Greek figure, skinny, next to the German (7) LEANDER {LEAN}{DER}
16 Drugs dipped in caviar for Brat Pack actor (3,4) ROB LOWE {RO{BLOW}E}
17 Once again, accepts contract’s terms and quits (7) RESIGNS RE-SIGNS
19 ‘Pescatarian option’? Ham is doubly out of order! (7) SASHIMI {HAM+IS+IS}*

20 Interrogate corrupt cronies about Congress in the morning (5-7) CROSS-EXAMINE {CRONIES}* over {SEX}{AM}
23 Poet, retiring lone wolf at heart (4) OWEN [T<=]
24 Real idiots misconstrued views of the Observer, etc (10) EDITORIALS*
25 Middle section taken from Muslim holy book: it’s a Buddhist riddle (4) KOAN KOrAN
26 Sympathisers omitting greeting disturbed intelligence chiefs (10) SPYMASTERS SYMPAThiSERS*

DOWN
1   Travel over most of large desert (4) GOBI {GO}{BIg}
2   Cut a dash, to some extent – voilà! (2-2) TA-DA [T]
3   Breakfast items stolen, for example case of grapefruits (7,4) POACHED EGGS {POACHED}{EG}{Gr...tS}

4   Less socially adept, demanding more energy, not right (7) NERDIER {NE(-e+r)RDIER}
5   King George and Queen Elizabeth: that’s even more majestic (7) GRANDER {GR}{AND}{ER}
7   That man’s little musical group, iconic, not half theatrical (10) HISTRIONIC {HIS}{TRIO}{icoNIC}
8   Crime that I arranged, being calculating (10) ARITHMETIC*
12 Naïve types accepting president’s to get rid of weapons (5-2-4) BABES-IN-ARMS {B{ABE'S}IN}{ARMS}
13 In the manner of Royal Marine, punch time-keeper (5,5) ALARM CLOCK {ALA}{RM}{CLOCK}
14 Spies entrap idiot, minor poet regularly following stars (10) CASSIOPEIA {CIA} over {ASS}{mInOr}{PoEt}
18 ‘River Dee rising,’ son first exaggerated (5,2) SEXED UP {S}{EXE}{D}{UP}
19 During autopsy, MP to manipulate evidence (7) SYMPTOM [T]
21 Blue European nobleman? (4) SADE {SAD}{E}
22 Stinging insects, with tip of wings clipped, remain poisonous creatures (4) ASPS wASPS

Reference List
Church = CH, Morning = AM, Greeting = HI, Energy = E, Right = R, King George = GR, Queen Elizabeth = ER, Son = S, European = E