Daily Answers

8-across – Dish with dried pulses and duck in wine : VINDALOO

9-across – Primarily American white people splitting constitutional vote : STRAW

10-across – Irritated by ultimately adorable, charming gurgling baby? : EGGY

11-across – Waiter offstage being pinned down by Casanova, ending in hilarity : UNDERSTUDY

12-across – Lap, note with 25% brushed off : CROTCH

14-across – Opponent nowhere to be seen, a tragedy : ANTIGONE

15-across – Half of necessary things forgotten by Church, concentrate : ESSENCE

17-across – Staff transporting stuff for ornamental work : MACRAME

20-across – A number from 7 in battle : WATERLOO

22-across – See 1 : BLOUSE

23-across – Bald genius playing for teams like Bayern Munich : BUNDESLIGA

24-across – Straight down, hot drink : PLUM

25-across – Small country where a spiritual teacher shaves head after meditation, finally : NAURU

26-across – Mouth off evidently about daughter for so long : GODBLESS

1-down – Weed — gear found on Amazon? : BIGGIRLS

2-down – Current toy unopened : EDDY

3-down – Bog in shed : SLOUGH

4-down – Welcoming drink : CORDIAL

5-down – In motion, a saint stood up for aristocrat : TSARITSA

6-down – Rocker covering starlet’s bottom with jelly, might she have wanted some me time? : GRETAGARBO

7-down – Country with Cornish, Cornish project? : SWEDEN

13-down – Super finding change in pocket when short of a sovereign : TREMENDOUS

16-down – Wonder, perhaps, if business deficit American : COLOSSUS

18-down – Large rodent: let me think about that climbing over fruit : MUSQUASH

19-down – One restrained by prisoner after punching antagonist, leaves : FOLIAGE

21-down – A learner : ALUMNI

22-down – See 24 across : BRANDY

24-down – See 9 : POLL

1-across – Rule cat out when worried about large decapitated rodent in drawer : TOULOUSELAUTREC

9-across – Former lover reportedly seen beside yourself : EXCITED

10-across – Rock off Ireland, nippy place for catching fish : FASTNET

11-across – Using some paint, he bedaubed 23 down : THE

12-across – Short time for all to see brief relationship with 1 across’s red can repeated here : MOULINROUGE

13-across – Provider of treatment after a break? One based in British 22, perhaps : BONESETTER

15-across – Personification of youth portrayed in 11 25 : HEBE

18-across – Writer injecting heroin, next but one after Charlie : ECHO

20-across – Use of blue pencil in Paris, chosen after moving out of Albi originally : CENSORSHIP

23-across – Checks 50 copies : LIMITATIONS

25-across – See 11 : BED

26-across – Place of pilgrimage: not right spot, ultimately, to be extremely flashy : LOUDEST

27-across – High line from tenor accompanying exotic dances : DESCANT

28-across – 1 across’s portrayal of contents of red can knocked over by drunk guy? : TIGHTROPEDANCER

1-down – Like what can be cured, cooked in ale batter? : TREATABLE

2-down – Pawnbroker fleeced many? That’s morally wrong : UNCLEAN

3-down – Make the best use of one tip some produced : OPTIMISE

4-down – Holy man in blue hotel uniform : SADHU

5-down – Gallery at home? Finally, one invites His Majesty : LOFTINESS

6-down – Sort of sunflower? That’s doubtful : UNSURE

7-down – Literary circle de rigueur on Dürer’s part : RONDURE

8-down – Someone appealing from courtside regularly : CUTIE

14-down – Setting for one of setter’s anagrams : TWENTYTWO

16-down – One who hastens through loosely roped exit : EXPEDITOR

17-down – Flower girl has gone travelling around Spain in the main : IRISHSEA

19-down – Ring for answer in German port? On your head be it! : HOMBURG

21-down – Explosive black artist taking the first chorus at beginning of Israelites : HEBRAIC

22-down – One of 1 across’s subjects walks in this way : STREET

23-down – 1 across’s portrayal of musical elitism : LELIT

24-down – Comedian that is funny at first : ODDIE

7-across – Mixed doubles interrupted by intro from Rolling Stones : BOULDERS

9-across – Boatman gets into real trouble being productive in the field : ARABLE

10-across – Lose control through unforced error : CEDE

11-across – British Miss married a business school type, a snake : BLACKMAMBA

12-across – Frequently found with grass, say, and dismissed : CAUGHT

14-across – New balls — and ace is not insurmountable : SCALABLE

15-across – Spenser’s miscalled on return of serve : REVILED

17-across – Dread getting beaten up taking empty subways where one lives : ADDRESS

20-across – Perhaps Moore curls topspin : SCULPTOR

22-across – US authority scorned rather than Boatman retreating inside : THEMAN

23-across – First of doubles with quashed serve in it against amateurs : DILETTANTI

24-across – Heads out of danger zone, hunting out a beast : DZHO

25-across – Emerge as first woman to take on half-volley : EVOLVE

26-across – Kindness at a tense moment in match? : SETPOINT

1-down – An encounter where one easily won dear hearts, perhaps : LOVEGAME

2-down – This is the solution! : CLUE

3-down – Under you once, VAT’s raised without full assent : YESBUT

4-down – Spooner’s journo under Prohibition gets a shot : BACKHAND

5-down – Prepare pear, eat and pay fruit producer : PAPAYATREE

6-down – Young woman takes shot in international : GLOBAL

8-down – Start, say, to analyse a clue: for example, ‘not dense’ : SPARSE

13-down – After middle age : GLIALCELLS

16-down – Objects to set in tie-break : ENTITIES

18-down – Great shot in middle of singles : SMASHING

19-down – Change ends or states monotonously : DRONES

21-down – Badger cull halted initially as college league takes victory : CHIVVY

22-down – Match point lost, even as it is creating surprises : TWISTS

24-down – Show of emotion, perhaps missing sprint for shot : DROP

1-across – Fantastic flyer in the Guardian alongside other pages : PEGASUS

5-across – First of rambutans thus covered by food found in dish, tropical fruit : SOURSOP

9-across – Ancient region largely unoccupied, charity recalled : LYDIA

10-across – Current unit left without cover, one produces reversal of policy : VOLTEFACE

11-across – Sort out English newspaper in revolt : REORGANISE

12-across – See 21 : SET

14-across – People screened by doctor, capric­ious character — prepare for impact! : BRACEONESELF

18-across – Thatcher’s children in agreement originally about Leader of Opposition? : MEGENERATION

21-across – Guy heading for Tianjin, China, perhaps : TEA

22-across – Wobble acquired, I’d like to add muscle : QUADRICEPS

25-across – Something slippery within grasp, creasing up : CRINKLING

26-across – What a hairy thing to twirl around! : TACHE

27-across – A little frog gets energy back that’s saved for another day : NESTEGG

28-across – See 7 : AIRPORT

1-down – Very little, partly gone : PALTRY

2-down – Israelite judge, criminal doing time, finally : GIDEON

3-down – Beyond belief, what drunkard may be doing? : STAGGERING

4-down – Number second, like two? : SEVEN

5-down – Go to town in jet, scoffing buffet : SPLASHOUT

6-down – Old guns held, odd bits dropping off : USED

7-down – Beginning to be filled with despair, not flying — from here? : STANSTED

8-down – Flipping remarkably, fitter person’s gobbled tart up : PRETTIFY

13-down – Stripper, dreadfully tired and aloof : DEFOLIATOR

15-down – Revelry cold, then hot : CAROUSING

16-down – Book upside down, I study image of colon, hyphen and round bracket, say? : EMOTICON

17-down – Case an American soldier brought up for old bishop : IGNATIUS

19-down – After uprising, monster with European money securing material : VELCRO

20-down – A suggestion for climber’s challenge : ASCENT

23-down – Belief in female attending to litter? : DOGMA

24-down – Island broadcaster on the radio? : SKYE

9-across – Even slices of apple pie have a filling that’s a touch strange : PATCHOULI

10-across – Top house design no use in picture : PHOTO

11-across – After dark, I’m heading west wearing tattered jeans : NIGHT

12-across – Cryptic hint, what with bird being worth double here? : INTHEHAND

13-across – Member of the family may be earning : GRANNIE

14-across – See 11 : JASMINE

17-across – Would have been a great pianist, if it weren’t for the Yankees : YLANG

19-across – Throw light on bald heads : LOB

20-across – See 17 : YLANG

21-across – Bravo to Lombardy serving a retro cocktail : MOLOTOV

22-across – Promote spoons bent by Geller at the end : SPONSOR

24-across – Le Figaro? : FRAGRANCE

26-across – Anne Hathaway’s head, back and hair treatment : HENNA

28-across – Geology subject is awesome! : ROCKS

29-across – Unwrapped sexy item, one out later to lessen the impact : EXTENUATE

1-down – One’s warmed by this shoot : OPEN

2-down – First to introduce gospel, mission­ary aims to follow St Mark : STIGMA

3-down – Man on board reported no time for sleep? : WHITENIGHT

4-down – Like a wolf that bears flowers with the end to seduce : LUPINE

5-down – One patient needing a bath? Someone’s gotta do it! : DIRTYJOB

6-down – Copy covering the start of summer recess : APSE

7-down – Work from 16 as nation developed : SONATINA

8-down – See 23 : WOOD

13-down – I go my way, being of a different persuasion : GOYIM

15-down – Silence ego? : SAYNOTHING

16-down – Last night of the Proms feature in hotel garden : ELGAR

18-down – Marriage of pin-up in fancy lace : ALLIANCE

19-down – John Terminator : LAVENDER

22-down – Little money in Swiss banks : SCENTS

23-down – Public disgrace to ignore second court order, essentially : SANDAL

24-down – See 1 : FIRE

25-down – Stood up to recite lines : ROSE

27-down – State slavery not clever : AVER