Daily Answers

4-across – Beginner’s gold : AUTHOR

6-across – Five turn into shelter with fine prospect of Manchester : BELLEVUE

9-across – Ancient city objects to be crossed : THEBES

10-across – Standard for upstarts : PARVENUS

11-across – Desolate, being so far out with knowledge : GODFORSAKEN

15-across – Prince as officer : MARSHAL

17-across – Young child’s young animal born after morning : BAALAMB

18-across – Witches’ sabbaths start with topless mounts : SORCERESSES

22-across – Finished catch : OVERHEAR

23-across – Subject of notice to coastguard : CODING

24-across – Pestered by unsettled shades : HARASSED

25-across – Number of girls that sing and dance : CHORUS

1-down – Fuss about the French city in Spain : TOLEDO

2-down – Open to reassessment of grade, which is extraordinary : REMARKABLE

3-down – Country baker is unwell, though up and about : SLOVENIA

4-down – Girl with posh Roman garment going in for hermaphrodite reproduction : AUTOGAMY

5-down – The smell of America on English boy’s name : THEODORE

7-down – Life in France : VINE

8-down – Stop? No problem : EASY

12-down – All a person needs to heat the house? : SOLARPANEL

13-down – Swampy in comparative involvement with Harris and me : MARSHIER

14-down – A vehicle gets older due to inappropriate treatments : ABUSAGES

16-down – Top secret : HUSHHUSH

19-down – Don’t talk — manage climb in periods : EPOCHS

20-down – Disdainful expression to support one of very small brain : POOH

21-down – See 20 : BEAR

1-across – Talk in which girl says she rambles, as 6 complains about cooking ingredient : PARSLEY

5-across – Enjoying oneself? Good man! : BONKING

9-across – Lady requiring oxygen for something catching? : LASSO

10-across – Family trips not starting, I abandon path : ANCESTRAL

11-across – See 1 : ISGHARSLEY

12-across – Grouse to swallow? : BEEF

14-across – Impairments stabilised, one doubly mobile : DISABILITIES

18-across – Get-together — in what way a hive of activity, did you say? : HOUSEWARMING

21-across – Bouncer releasing king from impossible choke : ECHO

22-across – Suspicious-looking, fishy, yet astonishing journalist : SHIFTYEYED

25-across – Bird perhaps, given malicious gossip, hit back : PARTRIDGE

26-across – Old key for lift : EXALT

27-across – Male fed a bit of corn oil primarily, where cakes available? : TEAROOM

28-across – Star turn in a star : SINATRA

1-down – Part of the body, the sound of Peking? : PELVIS

2-down – Step down first of stairs to break rule : RESIGN

3-down – Love all? Take less time and skill — mixed doubles : LOOKALIKES

4-down – Poet finds the mark of a leech on food : YEATS

5-down – Poking bottom, I react badly, finding E coli, perhaps? : BACTERIUM

6-down – Partial to pavilion, as Hanoverian architect : NASH

7-down – King held up by goddess for nationals : ISRAELIS

8-down – See 20 : GOLDFISH

13-down – Pulse -— bendy sort — pulse, ultimately, one gobbled by family : KIDNEYBEAN

15-down – Sea with exclamation of discovery about bats being upside-down — or, perhaps, 6 on 23? : ADAMHADEM

16-down – 20 8 by 6, perhaps, or from the poet Whitehead? : OHWETPET

17-down – Happy house passed around by rising river — that’s extreme happiness! : EUPHORIA

19-down – Bully’s heartless right-wing bombast : TYRANT

20-down – Good deal of this ornate creation of 6, perhaps : ODETOA

23-down – Unwelcome visitors, first of aliens being upset about it : FLEAS

24-down – Three’s crowd trouble, if head to toe : TRIO

1-across – Guardian of scouts at sea : CUSTOS

4-across – Complete failure of 17 bottle? : FIASCO

9-across – 18 down 14 coming round Royal Ulster Constabulary : FURNITUREPOLISH

10-across – Foot’s part right for marching : INSTEP

11-across – See 19 : POTATOES

12-across – Minion coming in to be … : BLACKEYE

14-across – … light for corgis’ owner after bone : SHINER

15-across – Piece of chalk for a pupil, a destroyer : ALKALI

18-across – High-ranking soldier entertaining champion to request disguise : FACEMASK

21-across – Top half fireplace to leave the country : EMIGRATE

22-across – Tell doing well : INFORM

24-across – Being temperate to achieve splendid life : SELFDISCIPLINED

25-across – Gale swirling around in place of films : EALING

26-across – Unusual issue very likely? : ODDSON

1-down – Portmanteau that’s taken on 18 down visit with queen and lieutenant missing : CHUNNEL

2-down – 18 down 14 like this catcher, decoy when around road east : SONET

3-down – Couplet arranged four times? : OCTUPLE

5-down – Setter’s favourite American push : IMPETUS

6-down – Fissiparous tendency of wayward miss holding on to letters page : SPLITTISM

7-down – Russian flower situation is indecent : OBSCENE

8-down – Nonsense about 50 being less than half 3 : TRIPLE

13-down – Protean church getting a lot of fun in spirit : CHANGEFUL

16-down – See 2 : LUMIERE

17-down – Fixer at first turning up next to 18 down : ITALIAN

18-down – Dawn on short day points to … : FRENCH

19-down – … damaged vessels, with single digit inserted, providing food : CHIPPED

20-down – Sudden increase happening with cutter : SURGEON

23-down – See 18 : FRIES

9-across – It’s applied in hilarious fashion, so singly formed? : VANISHING

10-across – See 9 : CREAM

11-across – Bum, near broke, owing money? : REAREND

12-across – Bearded giant maybe sides with the family divided : ERLKING

13-across – Fish cause trouble for surfers : TROLL

14-across – Profane Croat finds new way to get through pass dangerously : CUTACROSS

16-across – As distilled from the Weatherfield Gazette’s gossip column? : WORDONTHESTREET

19-across – Cocktail of whisky is truly an incendiary : RUSTYNAIL

21-across – This petrol will make consignment : CARGO

22-across – Substantial food item accompanying pea in soup — the writer’s about to scoff a little more than 3 : MEATPIE

23-across – Healthy state dresses as German city : GLASGOW

24-across – Distantly collecting rent, working together to stop mutual slating : AFLEA

25-across – See 24 : INONESEAR

1-down – Place of retreat from unorthodox Tory view, or one pulling teeth : IVORYTOWER

2-down – For popular quartet a 5th is admitted : INFAVOUR

3-down – Lao Tse has new formula from Bones : OSTEAL

4-down – See 23 : BIRD

5-down – Much regaled at a party! : AGREATDEAL

6-down – Long to pursue runner, said rapper to wit : SCILICET

7-down – Blind follower’s taken out in Rome? : MERINO

8-down – Sticks up spruce : SMUG

14-down – A little home cooking? : COTTAGEPIE

15-down – Recommend awaiting hospital bed? : SETFORWARD

17-down – Great God — preposterous palimony! : OLYMPIAN

18-down – With mounting amount of work getting in in good time for tea : EARLGREY

20-down – Keep horses under control : STABLE

21-down – Red mark checker uses to ring what’s not right? : CLARET

22-down – Design intermediate base : MEAN

23-down – Bind outside of barrel supporting AOL server : GAOL

1-across – See 15 : ISLAND

5-across – Sticking out without pay, he wrote : PROUDHON

9-across – 19’s to see about pointless Fury : LAVENGRO

10-across – Poles in work on lymph gland : TONSIL

11-across – Initial clue with thin blade : LETTEROPENER

13-across – 1-0 for Indigo : ANIL

14-across – Educationalists on their feet? : TRAINERS

17-across – Writer from hell, painter and priest : DISRAELI

18-across – Appropriate get-together? : MEET

20-across – Note about perfume: show bottom in two quarters : CRESCENTMOON

23-across – Godless Beograd’s first wrecked country : SERBIA

24-across – Train ordered to arrive Euston? Not this terminus : EUROSTAR

25-across – Holiday home for the campanologist? : BELLTENT

26-across – Be unsure of miracle? : WONDER

2-down – See about a second cover for picture : SEAS

3-down – A left turn into an underground space not divided into compartments : ACELLULAR

4-down – Figures at extremities : DIGITS

5-down – 5 across’s version of prosperity : PROPERTYISTHEFT

6-down – Turn into … into stone? Take it or leave it : OPTIONAL

7-down – Writer tackled end on : DONNE

8-down – Shade of love to be good for the planet : OLIVEGREEN

12-down – Protection from cold at Firenze : ANTIFREEZE

15-down – 7’s motherless month with lads in trouble : NOMANISAN

16-down – Live without always having a good drink : BEVERAGE

19-down – Writer to get from library : BORROW

21-down – 17’s shown most of African country’s back : SYBIL

22-down – See 2 : CAPE