Daily Answers

1-across – Awful muddle, how Berlin fires accompany one in another capital : FIDDLE

4-across – Dish served piping hot, on silver, by soldiers : HAGGIS

9-across – Tide reportedly smooth and dry in a site that’s produced vegetables : NEEPSANDTATTIES

10-across – Cleared out aquarium: offensive bacteria and other primitive life : AMOEBA

11-across – Instrument a doctor inserted into body in physical examination stings at first : BAGPIPES

12-across – New Year, when in unspecified location : ANYWHERE

14-across – Unpretentious street fashion leads : MODEST

15-across – Spoke of Saudi Arabia’s second revolution : RADIUS

18-across – Legionnaire’s headgear over one with aggressively clenched hand — that’s certainly not him : PACIFIST

21-across – Important stuff : MATERIAL

22-across – Evening dress for her and dinner jacket ultimately for him : ROBERT

24-across – Rebels turn sign : REVOLUTIONARIES

25-across – Joint of beef, no starter, feeding poorer half : REEFER

26-across – The reason to include flowerless* drink : WHISKY

1-down – Enthusiast welcoming mere possibility of being a citizen : FREEMAN

2-down – Con takes in Lab leader in two beats : DUPLE

3-down – Member adopting alias before the end of honourable discharge : LEAKAGE

5-down – Molten rock rises, full of aluminium alloy : AMALGAM

6-down – Suspect, we find, got in trouble : GETWINDOF

7-down – Spits in empty stonework jugs : SKEWERS

8-down – Thrown up in hotel bidet? Tasty! : EDIBLE

13-down – See 1 across : WHILEROME

16-down – Lay a friend under cover : AMATEUR

17-down – Au revoir, loose ends after wrong size fit : SEIZURE

18-down – What one might do with old paper platform : PULPIT

19-down – My terribly thin Greek city : CORINTH

20-down – Sherry craving, but not her place to consult : SURGERY

23-down – See 1 across : BURNS

8-across – Record mostly minor changes in style of pictures : FILMNOIR

9-across – Set of nine or ten one had initially cut : ENNEAD

10-across – School activity cancelled? On the contrary : NOPE

11-across – Knave sharing 25% with top man in his hostile takeovers : HIJACKINGS

12-across – Guard having mainly brave aim : DEFEND

14-across – State of what’s still left in river and loch : CALMNESS

15-across – In error, grip is changed for work on magazine, say : GRAPHIC

17-across – Dog and another pet grabbing old white garment : LABCOAT

20-across – Churned up, as field after one’s removed quantity of soil : SPADEFUL

22-across – See 15 : DESIGN

23-across – One acts in emergency ward, finally, with duty nurse needing replacement : UNDERSTUDY

24-across – What’s at heart of 23, long ago in former times : ERST

25-across – Shares taken back by limited company that goes to wall : STUCCO

26-across – Challenging puzzles — though apart from one hard one, oddly easy : TOUGHIES

1-down – One is posted during watch, for instance, as helmsman : TIMONEER

2-down – Duck out of business meeting : SMEE

3-down – County discard is hit with club : COSHED

4-down – Plan for fast plane, including maximum speed : PROJECT

5-down – My bad term of Latin : MEACULPA

6-down – Additions to petrol mix can stink, OK? : ANTIKNOCKS

7-down – River in East — that’s crossed by crews : GANGES

13-down – Lose power, protected by coppers no longer? That’s convenient : EXPEDIENCE

16-down – What’s brewing, if unions organised : INFUSION

18-down – Sign about journey south for old craft : ARGOSIES

19-down – Knowing about relative showing off : FLAUNTY

21-down – Circle in pub drinks certain wines : PINOTS

22-down – For practice session, fail as well after switching halves : DRYRUN

24-down – Authentic German dramatist affected by Brexit? : ECHT

1-across – One beginning to position essent­ial pockets inside setter’s coat? Good Lord! : HIMUPSTAIRS

9-across – See 13 : AITCHES

10-across – See 17 : TOBETSY

11-across – Problem looking OK with school after low grade : EYESTRAIN

12-across – A royal disapproval for party? : BEANO

13-across – Processing Spoonerised chat, make not a lot of habit etc? : DROP

14-across – Commercial breaks are initially mesmerising client : MERCANTILE

16-across – Catch on in the end : BUTTONHOLE

19-across – See 13 : ONES

21-across – Hang out first of washing in valley : DWELL

22-across – A strike on head of robin in death — accursed bird? : ALBATROSS

24-across – Lord’s period noble after abdic­ation of king — outstanding! : OVERDUE

25-across – Old vessel shipshape, on board­ing, expedition’s beginning : TRIREME

26-across – Welshman with desire to put in effort, saw work? : TREESURGERY

1-down – While bottle after spinning stopped by hapless Beth, play dirty : HITBELOWTHEBELT

2-down – What covers Paul’s bald patch well! : MYHAT

3-down – Opening time — charge! : POSTAGE

4-down – Great Hollywood success : TITANIC

5-down – Quaffing vat, what giant might say, drinking : IMBIBING

6-down – Is it complete? Show part of it in full : SITUATIONCOMEDY

7-down – What might have come before G Plan, briefly — something cast in gutter? : FAGEND

8-down – How one might learn some of the Tory backbenchers turned up : BYROTE

15-down – Appliance as it should be without French president : COOLIDGE

16-down – Notice in defect, nasty piece of work : BADLOT

17-down – So, best ten bananas fed to gorilla, I say! : HEAVENS

18-down – Nipper in loft, back shortly : LOBSTER

20-down – South American relations in historical county : SUSSEX

23-down – Cord matching rope, ultimately : TWINE

8-across – Got rid of jumper after a flipping emergency exit : FIREDOOR

9-across – Release a foreign film featuring Peter Pan : UNHOOK

10-across – One northerner’s neckwear : ASCOTS

11-across – Those who very much like being married, sadly single : ADMIRERS

12-across – Cross over, right through openings of 7 : FORD

13-across – If letters were missing, this could be the fourth character of eight in a string : APOSTROPHE

15-across – Quivering with delight due to funny tag line : ATINGLE

16-across – House number in guarantee, a provider of sole security : HOBNAIL

18-across – Republican 19 reportedly receives green money as payment : RECOMPENSE

19-across – 5p’s about equivalent to what 12 was once : VEEP

20-across – More usual term for an MP? : COMMONER

22-across – Careless Whisper, heartily covered by Island rock band first : REMISS

23-across – Attitude shown by earliest ancestors : STANCE

24-across – Dessert containing large foreign article is a showy but worthless trifle : FOLDEROL

1-down – ‘Now you might feel the pinch’ : FIRSTOFTHEMONTH

2-down – Right-hand man who always produces the circular letter : SECONDINCOMMAND

3-down – Fish supper without superior beer is rubbish : CODSWALLOP

4-down – Fellow keeping the Queen up after midnight? That’s highly unlikely! : DREAMON

5-down – Pacific island where American has to stick around : GUAM

6-down – V-day? : THIRDOFNOVEMBER

7-down – Time of month one is under strain : FOURTHDIMENSION

14-down – Thrower of tantrums, perhaps one that’s ridden in 10 Queen Mary Stakes : TWOYEAROLD

17-down – Implant essential: need good root alternative for tooth, initially : ENGRAFT

21-down – 10 veg in one pie, cooked before 10 leaves : NEEP

1-across – Sauce I don’t know at all, edges of label cut off : PASSATA

5-across – Vegetable container covered in fruit, knocked over : SPINACH

10-across – Prefer sugar granulated or in cubes? There is no choice : LIKE

11-across – See 10 : ITORLUMPIT

12-across – Wooden building rented out by Earl Grey, perhaps? : CHALET

13-across – Opposing players in periodical kicking leader under the table : ONTHESLY

14-across – Leader once as PM, less hot around the Palace of Westminster, perhaps? : JOSWINSON

16-across – See 17 : STORY

17-across – What’s not true, you see, starts with Boris around, by the look of him? : FAIRY

19-across – Bully ruing action having lost in battle : AGINCOURT

23-across – Where hula dancer might per­form, on well after backing singer : HONOLULU

24-across – Winning club, positive : UPBEAT

26-across – Instrument blown: were only Victoria, Emma, Mel B and Mel C performing? : DIDGERIDOO

27-across – A lovely surprise : BOMB

28-across – Treasure, like US singer? : CHERISH

29-across – Into river, pad let down : DEFLATE

2-down – Quick expulsion, by the sound of it, as a pack of lies reported? : ATISHOO

3-down – See 27 : SHELL

4-down – Artist created new romantic hero : TRISTAN

6-down – Old governor, good and dead : PILATE

7-down – Stool, might one sit beside chair? : NUMBERTWO

8-down – Scary work in a fridge : CHILLER

9-down – As a result, Farah in marathon taking days, oddly — this chap lasted a week! : SOLOMONGRUNDY

15-down – Duck under branch gripped by bird, not one for hawk : WARMONGER

18-down – Cut, boil has exploded : ABOLISH

20-down – No regret standing between walls of Newgate cell : NEURONE

21-down – Welcome again, maître d’s bubbly : READMIT

22-down – Presumption if heart is about right : HUBRIS

25-down – Tiny thing left in place of tower : BABEL