Daily Answers

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

1-across – Note down something in bed : FLOWER

4-across – 1 across finding fault with bully : COWSLIP

9-across – Medium discharge, maximum in obstreperous camels : ECTOPLASM

10-across – 1 across’s Antarctic expedition? : STOUR

11-across – Strongly maintain small 1 across : SWEAR

12-across – 1 acrosses border river in places : PRIMROSES

13-across – A conspirator twisted at first, seeking plant : ARBUTUS

15-across – 1 across having to kiss a redhead : NECKAR

17-across – The way to have a relative balance : STASIS

19-across – 1 across experienced UN’s absence at the front : DERWENT

22-across – Tiredness certainly in use of retina? : EYESTRAIN

24-across – 1 across more likely to win, leader dropping off : ASTER

26-across – Just around the corner, diet? : LOCAL

27-across – 1 across one’s to discover behind new line : NARCISSUS

28-across – Skill of a tennis player pinches prize on the backhand? : TOPSPIN

29-across – Open unimaginative starter, prawn cocktail : UNWRAP

1-down – 1 across lets ya out, say : FREESIA

2-down – Bizarre off and on : OUTRE

3-down – 1 across risen, there’s a cuckoo circling : EUPHRATES

4-down – 1 across, hero missing rugby posts : CAMPION

5-down – 1 across gets to stitch up monarch : WESER

6-down – Prided hair is on male that’s wild, covering top of neck : LIONSMANE

7-down – Study the country’s economy, primarily : PERUSE

8-down – Joint where tenor almost swallows piano : CARPUS

14-down – 1 across’s bottom half set on a stool, we hear? : BUTTERCUP

16-down – 1 across for motor race : CARNATION

18-down – 1 across being quiet in the year, forlorn ultimately : SHANNON

19-down – Man with a tough guy image ironed pants : DENIRO

20-down – More than one vessel among sheep arrives : TURNSUP

21-down – Drink problem out of season, fate ensuing : MERLOT

23-down – 1 across, everyone can see, left in dump : TULIP

25-down – Clip from Bardot, a serious stunner : TASER

1-across – Swift in dialect after choice literary papers : PICKWICK

5-across – Subject accepting right line on map : TROPIC

9-across – Report broadcast first to a South African city : PRETORIA

10-across – Scout’s word — but what about Cobden? : HONOUR

12-across – Banish fish that swallowed a British coin? : EXPEL

13-across – Main entrance for admitting small boy to do wrong : FRONTDOOR

14-across – Dismissed at cricket many times, admit then expel from our streets : RUNOUTOFTOWN

18-across – Cricketer makes Spooner’s shedder of tears give up the habit : WICKETKEEPER

21-across – A paint spread around in the past, where it’s said to be somewhat chilly : PATAGONIA

23-across – Gloomy audiologist? : DREAR

24-across – Agricultural school? : HARROW

25-across – 18’s neighbour needing a built-up shoe? : SHORTLEG

26-across – Quite fair? : PRETTY

27-across – Attempt to score a goal at tennis? : DROPSHOT

1-down – Nominal payment to one boosting hackneyed stuff with a tear : PEPPER

2-down – Pyramid builder finds point of life in food : CHEOPS

3-down – Crustacean, died in the wool, with flower : WOODLOUSE

4-down – Factotum, one among two preparing food, with other two let into party with hesitation : CHIEFCOOKAND

6-down – Where to sleep with ruler? : ROOST

7-down – Etiquette demanding return of crazy lethargy, or not? : PROTOCOL

8-down – See 1 : CORNRENT

11-down – See 4 : BOTTLEWASHER

15-down – Mistakenly lifted sentence of closure for study in the country : FIELDTRIP

16-down – Sappho’s problem about who’s leader of barter centre : SWAPSHOP

17-down – Salmond’s aim to be getting away with it? : SCOTFREE

19-down – Having a lot of money is breaking the law : WEALTH

20-down – See 10 : BRIGHT

22-down – Good entertainer maybe 1 down’s : GHOST