Puzzles October 2023

Across

• 1 Fibre's feminine and soft (4)
• 3 Former leading ladies sat back to inhale nerve gas (8)
• 9 Biosphere's unlimited exotic fruit (7)
• 10 Litigate against India's children (5)
• 11 Wavering criminal looter takes 1,000 (7)
• 13 Lake in Ireland receded (4)
• 15 Outspoken second person is one that bleats (3)
• 17 Gosh! Supportive outsiders provide poultry (5)
• 19 Managed in grandiose setting (3)
• 20 Fish sleep upside down, but not quietly (4)
• 22 Progress made by five breaking into a jive, perhaps (7)
• 25 Start a bit of joint rotation (5)
• 26 Claim prior to husband (7)
• 27 Native American accepts dodgy fare without complaint (8)
• 28 In Tagalog, 'elderberry' is neuter (4)

Down

• 1 Australian shrub, conifer and French grass getting cropped (8)
• 2 Those engaged will soon go down this as beer is found inside (5)
• 4 Discharge goes up or down (3)
• 5 Put up bishop thrown out of Serbia in turmoil (5)
• 6 Lead-free canister variant is worse (7)
• 7 Damaged after losing lubricant but ran (4)
• 8 Half of that initially really obnoxious no-good crowd (6)
• 12 Madame Butterfly maybe managed without Edward (5)
• 14 Designed to be fashionable and well maintained (8)
• 16 Someone choosing to serve up carrot/celery stuffing (7)
• 18 Six in terrible need experienced jealousy (6)
• 21 Starts to suck pleasure out of fabulous parody (5)
• 23 Centrepiece carried by lovely relative (5)
• 24 Mineral from Suez in crisis (4)
• 26 Tart's three and a bit outspoken (3)