Daily Answers

1-across – Did her Hollywood swansong lack gravity? : GLORIA

5-across – Spin doctor to officer: It’s how you must behave : PROTOCOL

9-across – Kebabs in villa regularly seen in this country, so I gathered : SOUVLAKI

10-across – Nymphet laughing out loud initially at sex with adult : LOLITA

11-across – Drunken pig hit female printer : LITHOGRAPHER

13-across – French novelist’s first item for sale? : LOTI

14-across – : OILSPILL

17-across – Elite member’s old cigar crushed in left hand : OLIGARCH

18-across – Where lots idly dived outside originally? : LIDO

20-across – Middleman takes look into writhing erotic turn : INTERLOCUTOR

23-across – Pinched passage in society feature : STRAIT

24-across – Peer’s joint backs on to ground : LORDSHIP

25-across – In a 3 way, oddly collecting debts for second daughter : ODIOUSLY

26-across – Wound sound back after beginning to listen : LESION

2-down – Hero picked up zilch after winning Oscar : LION

3-down – Rebel activity to do with potential rise or fall in government : REVOLTING

4-down – One used to be suppressing occasionally dirty lies in store : AWAITS

5-down – Calmly repaired nearly loose chip in bottle, extremely luckily : PHILOSOPHICALLY

6-down – Even jovial doctor’s sick; there’s a big bit in it : OILDRILL

7-down – It’s not much work wrapping 41 flowers : OXLIP

8-down – Declining pounds illicitly banked? : ONTHESLIDE

12-down – Spread fertiliser in plot Daniel cultivated : POLLINATED

15-down – Growth in Shropshire’s recession concentrates minds : POLARISES

16-down – Wee obstacles settled during working hours : UROLITHS

19-down – Pulling up unopened broccoli heads, say, yields waxy stuff : STEROL

21-down – Time to muse : ERATO

22-down – Radio listener picked up missile launch site : SILO

1-across – A country taking a boy from the East, he being in exile : DALAILAMA

6-across – Part of London that’s extremely sexy, detailed : SOHO

8-across – Attractive catch in wizard : MAGNETIC

9-across – See 13 : TOARMS

10-across – New chapter in For Whom The Bell Tolls, taken from there : THENCE

11-across – Showing example, shortly, round back of design : PARADING

12-across – Naughty males after daughter, finding girl : DAMSEL

15-across – Hands holding nothing, nothing with both hands? These passed for support : POORLAWS

16-across – Screwed up as rubbish, in the middle I went — here! : WASTEBIN

19-across – A painter passing northern city in the East : NAGOYA

21-across – Swinger missing overture from opera after 1 down 3 5 : PENDULUM

22-across – Ship in a bottle, perhaps? : VESSEL

24-across – See 22 : DEMILO

25-across – 26 a modest residence : BUNGALOW

26-across – Advertisement as filler : PLUG

27-across – Mineral which may bend teaspoons : SOAPSTONE

1-down – 7’s faith threatened distressed 12 : DEATH

2-down – No good stuffing pancakes without topping, these on the inside : LININGS

3-down – See 1 : INTHE

4-down – Drink fizzy cola — what might bubbles do? : ALCOPOP

5-down – See 1 : AFTERNOON

6-down – Caught in shoe, might this trip dignitary up? : SCANDAL

7-down – Confine wife in the clutches of merry author … : HEMINGWAY

13-down – … whose distant source of milk left empty, filling rotten molars : AFAREWELL

14-down – Lithium compound soluble, potentially damaging : LIBELLOUS

17-down – Organisational process, it’s rising and falling : TIDYING

18-down – One entering African country with different capital — finding another? : NAMIBIA

20-down – Work at first of suspects, say, up for interrogating people : GESTAPO

22-down – Sculpture perhaps alternatively titled 13 9? : VENUS

23-down – Writer leaves girl to run away with another : ELOPE

1-across – Spies return old clubs : SNOOPS

4-across – Sarcastic voice wrong, a little childish : CYNICAL

9-across – Troops are sick aboard large vessel : ARTILLERY

10-across – Bit of atmosphere created by Times — nothing in Mirror : XENON

11-across – Whip has nothing to say : KNOUT

12-across – Detailed review of 90s’ verse : INTENSIVE

13-across – Fire unspecified number entering river topless : ENTHUSE

15-across – Untidy person puts nothing in tin : SLOVEN

17-across – Sleep but refuse to remove hat : NODOFF

19-across – Motorman scrutinised books : AUDITED

22-across – Abbreviates A, B, C … and starts translation : ABSTRACTS

24-across – Racketeer has nothing left : NADAL

26-across – Nothing can top blue plant that produces truffles, say : SWEET

27-across – Suddenly voting her out : OVERNIGHT

28-across – Nothing yellow or blue : NAUGHTY

29-across – Dictate a request : DEMAND

1-down – Hobble with explorer, having lost a lot of weight : SHACKLE

2-down – Old hat with diamonds? Nothing better! : OUTDO

3-down – Executive committee force majority to embrace back massage : POLITBURO

4-down – Wolves’ leading striker has modest potential income at first : COYOTES

5-down – Nothing working for this old bugger! : NIXON

6-down – Australia has many virtues : CONTINENT

7-down – Singer from the South scoring very convincing win : LINNET

8-down – Consider eating nothing, if confused : SENILE

14-down – Intended collection for Middle Eastern philosopher : TROUSSEAU

16-down – Decree when 1 must enter 9 : ORDINANCE

18-down – See 26 : FACTORY

19-down – A mainly serious novelist : AUSTER

20-down – Made weaker when swollen heart transplanted : DILUTED

21-down – Fruit with stems on : DAMSON

23-down – A sick gag : RETCH

25-down – Setter gets up before noon on principle : DOGMA

7-across – Prize sheep get going : STARTUP

8-across – Unconventional country half-swallowed by snake : BOHEMIA

10-across – One who is posh, too : ASWELL

11-across – 16 in French not finished often by Irish : SOUVENIR

12-across – Head of parrot? : POLL

13-across – Transport homework containing round piece of wood for study of 21 : CARDIOLOGY

14-across – Skull, maybe, 11 to 3 25 12 : MEMENTOMORI

19-across – Die after fall, invaded by excursionists : TRIPPERISH

22-across – Girl from 8 could be heard to start 14 : MIMI

23-across – Preserve drink for 16 : KEEPSAKE

24-across – Records of Anglo-Indian currency? : ANNALS

25-across – View from work of 10 in 3 house : OPINION

26-across – Surprised comment good guy threw out : STREWTH

1-down – Sternutation at first — go away! : ATISHOO

2-down – Tory faithful’s trouble: that’s with Europe — no love : TRUEBLUE

3-down – House briefly licensed … : PUBLIC

4-down – … to which appealing, pumps oil out : POPULISM

5-down – Take off statute book and ring again : REPEAL

6-down – Playwright Henry provides jobs for the clergy : LIVINGS

9-down – Review in Le Soir left out points made by desks : ESCRITOIRES

15-down – East — East, not North: North’s part takes one down 10 : ELEVATOR

16-down – Nudge concerning bodyguard? : REMINDER

17-down – Peer upset — one from the other place has time to get in first : PREEMPT

18-down – Rival bird dead? : EMULATE

20-down – Very hot fastener inserted in lump of metal : PIPING

21-down – Preside in court over Eliot’s suit : HEARTS

1-across – A raptor or two produces ecstasy — we all go mad : EAGLEOWL

5-across – Call from the pink for return of some US unions in the blue : YOICKS

9-across – Cross between painting : TRAVERSE

10-across – Ship’s company thus reported one who left it : CRUSOE

12-across – Vulgar and somewhat adhesive … : TACKY

13-across – … doctor is possible criterion : YARDSTICK

14-across – Unit of energy on first base at old solver among kings : KILOWATTHOUR

18-across – The last at first amid vulgar praise : COMMENDATION

21-across – Painter of light held by old king Cole : PORTRAYER

23-across – See 3 : IDIEA

24-across – See 3 : LITTLE

25-across – Cubic man spoken and translated as red : RUBICUND

26-across – Correctly positioned for the pull shot? : ONSIDE

27-across – Thank you initially for embracing embracer with brutal violence : THUGGERY

1-down – Houses in forest at Epping : ESTATE

2-down – Speedy butchers need good cutter : GLANCE

3-down – Film about light: one thousand sheep, for example, desirable extra concept in which I tell it afresh in old king Cole’s words : EVERYTIME

4-down – See 3 : WESAYGOODBYE

6-down – Topless dance has pleasant smell : ORRIS

7-down – Unassailable study about being on the move : CASTIRON

8-down – Grasses in footwear : SNEAKERS

11-down – Holiday finished with significant discovery : BREAKTHROUGH

15-down – Cheating couple with use of stopwatch? : TWOTIMING

16-down – A majority of Juliet’s family have company in American resort : ACAPULCO

17-down – Ex-professor rues time wasted : EMERITUS

19-down – 24 : MINUTE

20-down – Holiday appeal : MAYDAY

22-down – Dominated with lines : RULED