Daily Answers

9-across – Alternative practitioner is in love, by the way : HOMEOPATH

10-across – Failure of the cloth : CRASH

11-across – Cyanide fragments? Have one! : NICEDAY

12-across – In the old days – from about 50 million years ago – I once went off round Australia : NEOZOIC

13-across – One preselected as leader of diocese put it first : SEED

14-across – An officer takes a service, maintaining row with corporal etc : ALTARLINEN

15-across – Calm like a wise man keeping posh : ASSUAGE

17-across – Drink in combination : SIDECAR

19-across – Few drinks left here: endure article among churches on car : LASTCHANCE

22-across – Not heavy metal for jazz in concert : ZINC

23-across – Kitchen vessel more or less black and white : PIEDISH

24-across – All-in wrestling admits no fat : LANOLIN

26-across – Gag on the right to draw : RETCH

27-across – Hill goddess detailed to welcome Italian : BENVENUTO

1-down – Fatherland collapsing then? : THINGSFALLAPART

2-down – Money illegal in places : SMACKERS

3-down – See 1 : HOLD

4-down – Service down in the shade : NAVYBLUE

5-down – Turn in crockery, suffering live author of 1 : CHINUA

6-down – Trained – second half of train came first : SCHOOLED

7-down – See 19 : SALOON

8-down – See 1 : THECENTRECANNOT

16-down – Some clues entered correctly that will give illumination : ARCLIGHT

17-down – The poet seems to be a mammal : SUCKLING

18-down – Kite gets boor to relax : CHILLOUT

20-down – Hot work of W. Yeats : SWEATY

21-down – See 5 : ACHEBE

25-down – Want change of polarity in 13 : NEED

1-across – Take MI5 literally at first, which is wrong : MISTAKE

5-across – Academic department is defective without starting course : FACULTY

9-across – Cash, whereof a little is needed in inducement : LUCRE

10-across – Jagger’s monument? : HEADSTONE

11-across – Rough description of government claim? Bosh! : SHAMBOLIC

12-across – Built up, they say, but actually the reverse : RASED

13-across – An old soldier abroad is in the hunt for spoil, unless restrained : POILU

15-across – One able to stretch tales more wildly … : ELASTOMER

18-across – … once named over being too cocky … : CONCEITED

19-across – … as Yugoslavia did in Croatia? : SPLIT

21-across – Biblical character, one rejected by church : ENOCH

23-across – Established state belonging to France : PROVENCAL

25-across – Gore with god’s backing is able to find a way in the Middle East : SUEZCANAL

26-across – Man’s given time for robbery : HEIST

27-across – Ring from alien after yearly article is dropped : ANNULET

28-across – Church regretful about witchcraft : SORCERY

1-down – Softy types in shaggy hair : MILKSOP

2-down – Cartesian settlement of religious differences : SECTARIAN

3-down – Bitter maple, a little bit : ACERB

4-down – 24, taking belt, troubled old king : ETHELBERT

5-down – Currency no longer has honest sound : FRANC

6-down – What Equity achieves stops future generations : CASTRATES

7-down – Plunders a little treasure in battle : LOOTS

8-down – His delivery may be 5 short : YIELDER

14-down – Other clue than I set is not cricket : UNETHICAL

16-down – Leo’s friend also has about 100 parts : ANDROCLES

17-down – Prophet taking note of mineral : MALACHITE

18-down – Soccer team from Cinque Port lacking victory : CHELSEA

20-down – Writer of trifle containing lost letters : TOLSTOY

22-down – Do overtime at the pictures : ODEON

23-down – Wine brought round in a large measure : PINOT

24-down – One missing from a choice of two can put you out : ETHER

1-across – Suit one into heavy breathing, as produced by impulsive strokes? : ACTIONPRINTING

8-across – Aphetic smear of negative ‘elp : NOINT

9-across – Monitor’s class pet, rail-touring round Italy : REPTILIA

11-across – Wise ruler not accompanied by second knight : SOLOMON

12-across – One who scores in bed, reserve outwardly rejected : SCRIBER

13-across – Dead easy to be a settler abroad : EXPAT

15-across – Hormone for South American type outside clubs : PROLACTIN

17-across – One always prepared to bother with capsized tug – awfully sorry about it : WORRYGUTS

20-across – Barker”s – Phwoar! Good one! : CORGI

21-across – In the royal habit of, um, getting exploited? : ERMINED

23-across – The language when one has to drive home! Agents taken aback! : ARAMAIC

25-across – All there is of a familiar place to learn lines? : UNIVERSE

26-across – Line taken by musical tenor : GIGLI

27-across – Michael, fool, has love for one drippy artist : JACKSONPOLLOCK

1-down – Wouldn’t you say that girl’s Candy : AINTSHESWEET

2-down – Material wife stifled by archaic husband : TWILL

3-down – Science that might lead to spectacular improvement of runabout-type motor : OPTOMETRY

4-down – Article about tips of roots in seed vegetable : PARSNIP

5-down – Brummie’s – too old for love, lay-it-on-thick technique : IMPASTO

6-down – One not easily giving up rank without resistance : TRIER

7-down – New Blairite movement for the anxious type : NAILBITER

10-down – With Watson, he unravelled a great scientific mystery : FRANCISCRICK

14-down – Partly emptied old Marina, fixed ignition problem : PYROMANIA

16-down – Ancient god raised to transform large place in Russia : ARCHANGEL

18-down – Endure less than try : UNDERGO

19-down – Look promising and build towards a centre : SHAPEUP

22-down – Upstart star put before King Kim, the old star : NOVAK

24-down – Threatening behaviour of one taking drink back to front : AGGRO

1-across – Coming before the bar opens is optimistic : UPBEAT

5-across – Parrot that is settled in the country : PRETORIA

9-across – The Black Prince having more intelligence : BRAINIER

10-across – Energy keeps male abstainer from segregated area : GHETTO

11-across – Art like rocket science in bright star : ARCHITECTURE

13-across – French king to have a place in the country : CAPE

14-across – Egg-laying beetle? : LADYBIRD

17-across – Where the defendant is after a drink … : ATTHEBAR

18-across – … which is simple for an ox : NEAT

20-across – Runabout hard on queen’s sticky plant in the country : JOHANNESBURG

23-across – How duck went west, taken off : ADDLED

24-across – Move through holes and tell : UNBUTTON

25-across – Example of fashionable attitude : INSTANCE

26-across – A row in direction giving name to writer of the country : NADINE

2-down – Left the blaze spreading around one in the country : PORT

3-down – See 2 : ELIZABETH

4-down – Tease companion for involuntary movement : TWITCH

5-down – Favourable to papers’ turnabout which is exerted by one gas : PARTIALPRESSURE

6-down – Good man interrupting oaths from the 9? : EGGHEADS

7-down – Showing? About time! : OVERT

8-down – Main lines are showing Queen 3 as Sikh : INTERURBAN

12-down – Cockney scene in the country : EASTLONDON

15-down – Get struck on the shoulder, heard not seen? : BENIGHTED

16-down – A singer fellow near Oxford : ABINGDON

19-down – Cross out half of 8 in the country : DURBAN

21-down – Complete set of books, a sign to the audience : ALLOT

22-down – See 13 : TOWN

9-across – One feature in bachelor which is delicate : BONECHINA

10-across – Danger for 49 : PERIL

11-across – Blessed one on drug, the hard stuff : STONE

12-across – 11 times with the bat, past : MIDDLESEX

13-across – 11 reserves used to attack : ARSENAL

14-across – 11 hit, catching king : WREXHAM

17-across – Turn pair of keys to open drink : ADDLE

19-across – Spring vegetable making comeback : MAY

20-across – Material hardly stood out! : SATIN

21-across – 11, at any moment, 160 of them : EVERTON

22-across – 11s having singular ailment? : SHINGLE

24-across – Fruit considered tasteless? : RASPBERRY

26-across – Boy making sound of crane : DEREK

28-across – French product meeting resistance, rose : BRIER

29-across – Material’s check set in 11, perhaps : VELVETEEN

1-down – Bird, I repeat! : IBIS

2-down – More than one bulb emitting light is on when switched : ONIONS

3-down – Trial where one gets shot : SCREENTEST

4-down – Melancholic face capturing painful experience : DISMAL

5-down – Criticise unfashionable US dessert : PANDOWDY

6-down – 11 circle supported by rootless tree : OPAL

7-down – One with authority like mum, scallywag admits : BRASSHAT

8-down – Plant Latin in modern communication : FLAX

13-down – 11 needing a number of supporters : AGATE

15-down – Malay archipelago etc facing 11 from the West : EASTINDIES

16-down – Appear affected, as meat : MINCE

18-down – Hearing honeybunch’s family, hide! : DEERSKIN

19-down – Plant not entirely hot during migration : MANGROVE

22-down – Sea monster fighting partner with riot gas, rearing : SCYLLA

23-down – 11 for which newspaper’s written up score : GARNET

24-down – 11 in sport getting through … : RUBY

25-down – … thrashed 11 : BURY

27-down – 11 known much further north : KENT