Quick crossword No 292

Across

1. Poirot's a hard task master (8)
2. Strangely silent – pay attention (6)
3. Just a lake (4)
4. Ones bearing arms? (8)
5. Python doing nothing (4)
6. After six, queen returns to capital (6)
7. "I paint modern!" exploded artist (4,8)
8. Grieving wife seizes new opportunity (6)
9. Strips of land? (12)
10. It's used to secure part of level crossing (6)

Down

1. Jeremy's neverending press (4)
2. Some Romans were giving response (6)
3. Hemingway once has novel with prime bits left out (6)
4. Sort to try speed occasionally (4)
5. A line in part of Strauss opera (6)
6. Bit of silence on the radio (5)
7. One short bit of poetry – it means everything (8)
8. Alternatively, one drink to start (6)
9. Red Square once visited in European tour at the start (6)
10. Secures borders of Laos (5)
11. Taste of cosmo others find sophisticated (6)
12. Cheaters rattle them! (8)