Daily Answers

1-across – Those following a star with cool clobber : FANCLUB

5-across – See 4 : PUDDING

9-across – Mixed colour, including white, for tree : ROWAN

10-across – 5 across taken alone, containing hamster, say, stuffed with last of gerbil : APPLETART

11-across – Without restraint from unscrupulous Sun rep­ort­er, took the initiative : UNSHACKLED

12-across – Don’t go from lentils to pizza : STOP

14-across – Potentially tricky food items? : HOTPOTATOES

18-across – He sang, as singer did to cuckoo : OTISREDDING

21-across – Unfinished cut of beef pie : FLAN

22-across – Mince redolent in cut of meat : TENDERLOIN

25-across – Fine in head, figure not entirely right for mind : LOOKAFTER

26-across – Earliest Greek character’s Eureka, pressing disc : ALPHA

27-across – Cornish author Christopher, short of wood, finding branch in the wind? : SWISHER

28-across – German company reaching peak finances authority : AUDITOR

1-down – Is the lowest tide so unconventional? : FAROUT

2-down – Most recent two or three points? : NEWEST

3-down – 24 or chipolatas, then traditional dish : LANCASHIRE

4-down – Want to take pride initially in developing traditional dish : BLACK

5-down – Meat — go with Argentina’s favourite one : PEPPERONI

6-down – Source of meat, or honey, say : DEER

7-down – I cannot, I suspect, show idleness : INACTION

8-down – One with an opener starts to play ambitious shots to get out : GATEPOST

13-down – Traditional dish requiring passion, ­having bondage during party : BANGERSAND

15-down – Old MCC president with whom phone tapper catches English theologian : TEDDEXTER

16-down – These should rise, so being half full, raised : SOUFFLES

17-down – European capital moving into Italian food : RIGATONI

19-down – See 3 : HOTPOT

20-down – So is redhead a bit thick? : UNFAIR

23-down – Skin apparently sore, coming up to a degree : DERMA

24-down – See 13 : MASH

7-across – Way with throw-in to right? : LANCASTER

8-across – Pole coming in presently : ANSON

9-across – See 4 : CHOCOLATE

10-across – Arab brains turned after change of air : IRAQI

12-across – How to cook fish inside without having to pay : FREELY

13-across – Fight for an apple : BLENHEIM

14-across – One minute’s silence for the French museum man : ASHMOLE

17-across – Person without energy — former minister : TYPHOON

20-across – Find record complete : DISCOVER

22-across – Big pot given to gossip : CHATTY

24-across – What’s going on in the Yard? : AFOOT

25-across – After a lot of haste I get to stick : HURRICANE

26-across – Unintelligible participant in tug of war : GREEK

27-across – Add weight here for a thematic eighth — it will dry : TOWELLING

1-down – Preventer of leak used to be female : WASHER

2-down – Setter’s crying out loud for sweet : ICECREAM

3-down – Confine sovereign under tree on field in Shaftesbury : ASHLEY

4-down – Translate from French: tobacco healthy, dessert fatal : DEATHBY

5-down – Promoter of chaos with a spanner : ANARCH

6-down – Doctors abandon oxygen : MOSQUITO

11-down – A lot of larks mean drink : BEVY

15-down – High church feature: object to female intruding : SPITFIRE

16-down – Troops in 11’s rhyme : LEVY

18-down – _____ ? Then wear a woolly hat! : HEADCOLD

19-down – Heavy defeat in scam leaves one in the soup : CROUTON

21-down – See 3 : COOPER

22-down – Former president on the wagon? : CARTER

23-down – Householder permitted article under canvas? : TENANT

9-across – Cause trouble with high heels, boarding type of transport : RAISEHELL

10-across – Inhabitant of water butt : ROACH

11-across – O’ ___ men, as Burns almost said in Chinatown? : MEISSEN

12-across – Try to chuck Little Bird : GOSLING

13-across – European treaty establishing discrepancy between calendars : EPACT

14-across – Bordeaux, say, is in peace with orthodoxy : CALVINISM

16-across – Head of state’s minders ordered to do eg Ra-Ra-Rasputin without head of state : PRAETORIANGUARD

19-across – Formerly meeting sticky ends — those of Emperor Trajan, Nero, etc? : RENCONTRE

21-across – Island going west in Prufrock : CORFU

22-across – Sun exposes party leader taking weed on public vehicle : PHOEBUS

23-across – Trough engulfing a boss : MANAGER

24-across – Politician who’s into huntin’ ’n’ fencin’? : PALIN

25-across – Fighter’s pleased a riot’s erupted : GLADIATOR

1-down – One bellyaching about daft mare’s death : GRIMREAPER

2-down – Bird raised plant, needing a lot of water : TITICACA

3-down – What gardener does to mature plant’s humble dwelling? : BEDSIT

4-down – Slight incline : LEAN

5-down – Perform sex act on prisoner in bondage, as dominatrix may : FLAGELLATE

6-down – Have songwriter up for having dates : TRYSTING

7-down – Island that’s upholding another one : TAHITI

8-down – Time to show affection for hoodie, perhaps? : THUG

14-down – University fees take the Liberal out of party leader — which is not all bad : CURATESEGG

15-down – Bloody compiler! Lousy, keeping union member up : MEDIUMRARE

17-down – Music maker’s sort of disc cutting sort of steak : TROMBONE

18-down – Reverse decision to encase small sibling in mineral : ABROGATE

20-down – Spoon about to be dropped by fool : NOODLE

21-down – Frank has the ability — and proved it : CANDID

22-down – Less than mature mammal on top of a less than mature insect : PUPA

23-down – Drink and drug necked by loony : MEAD

1-across – Under a captain’s vessel, vary nitrogen : SUBALTERN

6-across – Break horny musician’s back : SNAP

8-across – People treated broadcast as a theatrical work : PATIENCE

9-across – Radium-enriched, inclusive of spirit : WRAITH

10-across – Link broadcast just started before watershed : BRIDGE

11-across – Hold molten lead in wine : HEADLOCK

12-across – Elf, back to front, showing liveliness : ESPRIT

15-across – Prepare sticky mess date to give compensation : MAKEGOOD

16-across – Leader getting to sleep over, initially, with Trotsky? : NAPOLEON

19-across – Philosophy of communist doctrine switching left and right wings : TAOISM

21-across – Difficult answer — bird toiling : HARDATIT

22-across – Attempt to remove government lay school : PUTSCH

24-across – Boundary-less help-a-son city : ELPASO

25-across – Rolls producers using kinetic energy, initially located in Serbia, maybe : BAKERIES

26-across – Heartlessly admitted hadn’t repaid debt : OWED

27-across – So, no problem regarding military command? : EYESRIGHT

1-down – Part of flight with Brummie in lead : STAIR

2-down – Even less able to view outstanding performance : BLINDER

3-down – Push end of toboggan into toboggan : LUNGE

4-down – Days before theatrical Midlands town : EVESHAM

5-down – Meetings here offering up-to-the-minute commercial opportunity : NEWMARKET

6-down – Mollusc in eg summer? Not on tug : SEASLUG

7-down – Racing ace forced out — angry : AUTOCROSS

13-down – Natural harbour dem­ands sun hat on a swimming fowl : SCAPAFLOW

14-down – Retired at end of day in mood for a significant age : TWENTYONE

17-down – Over-fussy type getting on potty holds one : OLDMAID

18-down – Only dining chairs worthy of comment? : NOTABLE

20-down – Show off more old hat, black, worn material : OUTBRAG

22-down – Authorisation put in for each rude attention-seeker? : POKER

23-down – TNT found in Cat and Fiddle : CHEAT

5-across – Try to get number right away : GOETHE

6-across – One managing to shut up the wife : COWPER

9-across – Resinous substance — it is put into soothing cream : BALSAM

10-across – Luxury when university lecturer comes into old money : OPULENCE

11-across – Bank offering little reward : LEAN

12-across – Backed by everybody fighting the enemy? : ATTHEFRONT

13-across – Formula for action bringing dissension : ALTERCATION

18-across – Black as the one who was jailed in America? : PRESSBARON

21-across – Diamonds perhaps for a set of garments : SUIT

22-across – As saint only half sweet, I grimace : BONIFACE

23-across – Minister is scoundrel when meeting goddess : CURATE

24-across – One getting bothered about politicians : EMPSON

25-across – Messing about, no good : LARKIN

1-down – Disrespectful friend entertaining Queen and Prince Charles? : PERSONAL

2-down – Henry in the end joins a Christian army that prohibits violence : AHIMSA

3-down – Day and month for superior chaps to join in deed : DOCUMENT

4-down – Bring this if last to rise : UPREAR

5-down – Solemn little son : GRAVES

7-down – Water channel running around home : RACINE

8-down – Precentor so wacky helps to make an abbey famous : POETSCORNER

14-down – English business person left squashed with area inadequate for display : EMBLAZON

15-down – Out riding a three-wheeler round one end of street : ONSTRIKE

16-down – The sound of a small stream : BROOKE

17-down – Carpet with its first bit turned over : MILTON

19-down – Japanese ware showing craft, work taking a different direction : SHIPPO

20-down – Drink offered by exhibition centre — undrinkable black liquid : NECTAR