Daily Answers

1-across – Party trick: minister keeping tax as priority : CONSERVATIVE

8-across – Insect maybe flying on and off, reported flying in Russia : ANTONOV

9-across – Mars’ hill, place of pilgrimage once : BENARES

11-across – How Othello loved to be in debt, having interrupted payment : TOOWELL

12-across – Shakespearean gentleman to indicate return of French king : SIGNIOR

13-across – New party? … : GREEN

14-across – … likewise, in lieu, the person next door to Spooner : NEWLABOUR

16-across – See 25 : DEMOCRATS

19-across – Identity card opens admittance into games for rum rum party … : PLAID

21-across – … its openings gain admittance before there’s fever inside : ENTERIC

23-across – Nobleman shortly entertaining love poet : ARIOSTO

24-across – Am I dust? Hardly, though I might include a dirt track : STADIUM

25-across – Ballots carried me out from party : LIBERAL

26-across – Leaders have embraced mercy – perhaps in the battlebus : HEADQUARTERS

1-down – Pet hate starts with poetry – hence the electrons : CATHODE

2-down – Granny’s very partial to this cloth : NANKEEN

3-down – Interval entailed partaking of a meal of lentils : ERVALENTA

4-down – Struggles to contain black feelings : VIBES

5-down – Terracotta horse in house that went with the wind : TANAGRA

6-down – Unbalanced state of 13 before I leave : VERTIGO

7-down – Gaea’s change of heart over the 13 engine? : EARTHGODDESS

10-down – Star performer wanting to fly? Ride horse : SIRFREDHOYLE

15-down – Reveller, the fool, interrupting mourner : WASSAILER

17-down – Macbeth, questioning his title, is inflammable : METHANE

18-down – Passed being a passenger? : CARRIED

19-down – Prince likely to be open to persuasion : PLIABLE

20-down – Times following removal of leader from Egyptian states : ASSERTS

22-down – See 19 across : CYMRU

1-across – Writing back to university, thank God ‘e’s got a mark : SMUDGE

5-across – Winner bagged first place in this : SACKRACE

9-across – Americans doing the business here in Bangor, say? : DOWNTOWN

10-across – Never admitting training in household textiles : NAPERY

11-across – Strangely, ‘e found Dallas immediately : ALLOFASUDDEN

13-across – It becomes us all and, ungrammatically, on the contrary! : DUST

14-across – Work with large numbers of tree dwellers : OPOSSUMS

17-across – Barber’s harmony loud, so far as we are concerned : FOURPART

18-across – No further charge on the Blaydon Races? : NETT

20-across – Declines more treatment with such instruments : MICRONEEDLES

23-across – One’s turning left through her! : SILVIA

24-across – Supports weapons without support : ARMRESTS

25-across – In French, spell Charm : ENTRANCE

26-across – Innate, primitive disposition! : NATURE

2-down – Reveal the rear satellite : MOON

3-down – St Leger here with a fellow fly-fisher : DONCASTER

4-down – Cabinet oil expert outing the French 22 : ETOILE

5-down – Unite in mess of mess; hang together roughly or, in unison, belt out 2 21, 9, 11, 19 21, 22 13, 23, say, or 26 boy : SINGFROMTHESAME

6-down – Monastic London characters in the Lake District : CONISTON

7-down – Swift attack capturing prince : RAPID

8-down – Reprimand night flyer for attacking Brussels? : CARPETMOTH

12-down – The Bundesbank’s dream of continental coverage? : EUROVISION

15-down – See 5 : SONGSHEET

16-down – Man without home thanks one for support : MAINTAIN

19-down – See 6 : OLDMAN

21-down – Banker with a bank in Paris, right? : RIVER

22-down – 4’s raising the population of Hamelin : STAR

1-across – Lawrence had dinner between setbacks with private conversations : TETESATETES

9-across – Nonsense some celebrated with return of person with pick : ELECTOR

10-across – Occupy with achievement of bowler and batsman : OVERRUN

11-across – Rodent and bird without enclosure : GUINEAPIG

12-across – Big band music on second side : SWING

13-across – Flower of the 15-a-side game on time : RUHR

14-across – Speculate on limit to hospital department’s raising of standard : BETTERMENT

16-across – Animal Behaviour is a title by composer : BESTIALITY

19-across – Actor in boot? : TREE

20-across – Large quantities : LOADS

21-across – Motorist’s eccentric stream : CARDRIVER

23-across – More than 50% of English tortoises are rank : ECHELON

24-across – Parliamentarian, one in hell with the wrong polarity : HAMPDEN

25-across – King Edward cut down amid rebel riot by little bird : REEDWARBLER

1-down – Optimism on Matthew’s part: is his obese female child male, even if model? : THEWISHISFATHER

2-down – See 1 : TOTHE

3-down – Fight that is a danger to sheep : SCRAPIE

4-down – See 1 : THOUGHT

5-down – Brown field in Surrey at disposal : TREASURY

6-down – Church or garage with link to the web : SERVICEPROVIDER

7-down – The creed of the Mendicants? : BEGGERSBELIEF

8-down – King has clue to things from chivalrous figures : KNIGHTSERRANT

15-down – It’s hell to do crosswords – get lost : DISSOLVE

17-down – Indian city won back by chance : LUCKNOW

18-down – Report of infliction of pain on arsonist? : TORCHER

22-down – Relating to a branch that causes alarm : RAMAL

1-across – Compile faulty argument : POLEMIC

5-across – Some mix in nut and meat product : PEMICAN

9-across – Voice intent : TENOR

10-across – Willing to accept daughter can be changed : AMENDABLE

11-across – Make tyres differently, giving improved access : MASTERKEY

12-across – ‘ound the Italian to the point where … : UNTIL

13-across – … eccentric eats hot vegetable : CHARD

15-across – Is priest getting immoral capital? : ISLAMABAD

18-across – New gaffer initially interrupts foremost film director : PREMINGER

19-across – Sailor stays in corrupt place to sleep : ROOST

21-across – A king picked up the vernacular : ARGOT

23-across – One makes a claim before getting emotional : PRETENDER

25-across – Associate depression with class : COLLEAGUE

26-across – Detective recovers stolen loincloth : DHOTI

27-across – Rushed round a cross fast : RAMADAN

28-across – Navigate round America in old ship : STEAMER

1-down – Mop coat spoilt in river : POTOMAC

2-down – Picture shows lights on the promontory : LANDSCAPE

3-down – Detective in scrap throws a left : MORSE

4-down – Student tucks into excellent pork accompaniment : CRACKLING

5-down – Ruth embraces oriental devotion : PIETY

6-down – Abigail does without a calculator for a period : MIDSUMMER

7-down – Explorer and sailor in bed : CABOT

8-down – Required to restrain a Liberal made angry : NEEDLED

14-down – Tangle and quarrel with in action : DRIFTWEED

16-down – Immensity of philanthropy shown around the northeast : LARGENESS

17-down – Carpet the street in blossom : BROADLOOM

18-down – Rushed Charlie in by lively horse : PRANCER

20-down – Soldier to slip up in bank : TERRIER

22-down – Artificial life form discovered by Mongol emperor : GOLEM

23-down – Show silver in dish to unbeliever : PAGAN

24-down – Invest in experience without resistance : ENDUE

1-across – This car’s just pressure in a new form : JESUSCHRISTSUPERSTAR

12-across – Moslem’s local American reverse : SUNNI

13-across – See 9 : EXPRESS

14-across – Setter’s a friend in maybe 12 office : IMAMATE

15-across – What do you want for Christmas : PREZZIE

16-across – Two points each, one short of wanting to drink the lot : THIRTYALL

17-across – Not 44 to deface : MAR

18-across – Singlestick operator supports logophile : BACKSWORDMAN

20-across – Spies a loo : AGENTS

24-across – Aged relative of Katharina until tamed : NAUNT

25-across – Airborne seeds, first changed, end with dispersal : WHISTLE

27-across – Perform better than gold in the open : OUTDOOR

28-across – Cure, say, of 32, say : HEEL

29-across – Lies low, and did so in later writing I can put unto Latin : PLAYSPOSSUM

31-across – See 25 : DOWN

33-across – Don’t interfere in readiness : STANDBY

35-across – Father embraced by flower girl : DESIREE

36-across – Losing head is pure lack of patience : HASTE

37-across – Average sort of go-between : MEDIUM

38-across – See 1 down : TECHNICOLOUR

42-across – Code of practice begins after the last one : ZIP

44-across – Communist achievement postponing fools’ day? : LONGMARCH

46-across – Headless flower is trouble to back : LUMBAGO

48-across – 24 turns to a king – sledgers beware! : NUNATAK

49-across – Time lost by Italian city firm taking water from Venezuela : ORINOCO

50-across – Turn up another card trick : TWIST

51-across – Gunn, who has written poems about a lot of big beasts many times, has expectation about English painters : THEPHANTOMOFTHEOPERA

1-down – Sweetheart’s letter writing a greeting to Samuel with a verve: Sherlock : JOSEPH

2-down – At the end of the day a singular French game’s very difficult, as they say : SUNSETBOULEVARD

3-down – Dog exactly like the last : SPITZ

4-down – Some big beasts swallowed by fish with no colour : HUELESS

5-down – Sticker left off, take a pew during solver’s return with 36 : IMPETUOSITY

6-down – See 25 across : THEWIND

7-down – Still hungry? Attain and use organisation : UNSATIATE

8-down – She rises in 21 : EVITA

9-down – Nameless bird with the odd numbered papers : STARLIGHT

10-down – Having wings – a thousand on the clock : ALARM

11-down – Odd man out here, being potty – barking? : JERRYSPRINGER

19-down – Universities now : CATS

21-down – Right wing today gives veterans no voice : NEOCONSERVATIVE

22-down – See 1 : ANDHISAMAZING

23-down – How big is the book? : VOLUME

25-down – Reportedly on good terms with urban horticulturalists? : WELWYN

26-down – Exponent of spin as curate in play : TOPAS

30-down – Errant aristocrat called immediately : STRAIGHTOFF

32-down – Go away from London district with change of heart : SHOO

34-down – Score of 40 to make historic garment work : DOUBLETOP

35-down – See 1 : DREAMCOAT

39-down – In channel island love signifies great courage : HEROISM

40-down – A fly-by-night or two – or two thousand with holiday arranged : OWLMOTH

41-down – Shakespearean part : PORTIA

43-down – Did Pecksniff employ him to steal? : PINCH

45-down – Mobile number partly in Greek I assume : NOKIA

47-down – Monsieur the Archduke’s statement of intent? : MOTTO