Daily Answers

8-across – A shade over the pond, a complete state : COLORADO

9-across – European city left in the midst of floods : OPORTO

10-across – Oddly, blonde is turning heads in story of life after death : OBIT

11-across – Setter describing a clanger, perhaps, as owner of large corporation : JELLYBELLY

12-across – Friendly and unfriendly types confused : HUGGER

14-across – Close relationship with British and Italian church : BROMANCE

15-across – Convert yearned for clerical office : DEANERY

17-across – Sharp instrument, point getting round to puncture you : SYRINGE

20-across – Mother does the housework? That’s attractive! : CHARISMA

22-across – See 12 : MUGGER

23-across – Reportedly, actress Elizabeth with strapping figure producing commotion : HURLYBURLY

24-across – See 2 : SUIT

25-across – Entrance, one admitting first of crew on ship : ACCESS

26-across – Democrat in flying US party : WINGDING

1-down – Still slip to lift over top of elasticated garment that’s tight : BOOBTUBE

2-down – Caged bird, perhaps, holding us up, 1940s’ style : ZOOT

3-down – Vessel in difficult situ­ation, conflict : JAMJAR

4-down – Potential wife, double trouble! : WOULDBE

5-down – Sweet, short and round : ROLYPOLY

6-down – Go with man like mad, embracing very intimate experience : LOVEMAKING

7-down – Last characters in ski lift, almost every one I see on the slope : ITALIC

13-down – Hero of the South, broadly speaking? : GENERALLEE

16-down – Cultivate shrubs with one hollow plant : ROSEBUSH

18-down – Europeans creasing pants : GRECIANS

19-down – More than one grave line in some music : BARROWS

21-down – Feeling around a buttock and thigh : HAUNCH

22-down – Old people won’t necessarily answer : MAYANS

24-down – Face among images I deleted : SIDE

7-across – Sea Eagle follows Little Cloud, initially over posh Swiss city : LUCERNE

8-across – Dirty team containing one left back : SQUALID

9-across – For an actor, breaking a leg is good! : PEGG

10-across – Tea Party’s principal threat? : MADHATTER

12-across – Fish caught by 21 down reactionary : COHOS

13-across – Brush-off outside pub leads to rows : RHUBARBS

15-across – In China, family name some garden 3 : DENG

16-across – Original letters from First Girl I Loved, now involved in brief affair : FLING

17-across – Horseplay involving a horny man : FAUN

18-across – Great bit of leg in Sun publication : SMASHING

20-across – Instruments from 5000 Spirits? 10% of them : DRUMS

21-across – Make it big before Painting Box : STRIKEOIL

22-across – Starts in Sound Techniques : STEP

24-across – The 14 man with no piano, instead getting drunk : CHELSEA

25-across – Very good gimbri intro intended, say, for Chinese White? : PIGMENT

1-down – Group showing creative inspiration : MUSE

2-down – Prickly chap in side bet­ween posts before own goal : HEDGEHOG

3-down – The writer inspired by ditty about bankers? : GNOMES

4-down – Cousteau’s source of inspiration? One of the 14 on an organ : AQUALUNG

5-down – Tibetan tradition, to some extent? : TANTRA

6-down – Storyteller as part of line-up : LIAR

11-down – Daughter committing sin with the same short, bold actions? : DERRINGDO

12-down – Best group Way Back in the 1960s : CREAM

14-down – Right people for Royal Navy? : BLUES

16-down – More playful fellow, with accident more likely? : FRISKIER

17-down – The Guardian’s in Somerset town right away for a golf match : FOURSOME

19-down – Fellow going off Gently Tender at first? Very much so : SORELY

20-down – Clue I set after final appearance of David Gray, perhaps : DULCIE

21-down – Erected very large house in London area : SOHO

23-down – Layers of the Onion on repeat for long periods : EONS

1-across – Plaintiff framing base journalist : SUBEDITOR

6-across – No stomach for bottle in small restaurant : CAFE

8-across – Artist having a bash, after performing in Shakespearean role : LEONARDO

9-across – See 19 : MANTEL

10-across – At the outset, orphan donning shoes is buoyant : FLOATS

11-across – Author is assimilating magazine covered by poet and inner self : DANIELLE

12-across – Arrogant nonsense after winning : UPPISH

15-across – Right losing ten in split, likely to respond under stress : REACTIVE

16-across – Oz native finding everyone in action outrageously offensive, initially : WALLAROO

19-across – Try a name to conjure with in bluff author : HILARY

21-across – End with short break in Spain, getting the most out of it? : TIPSIEST

22-across – Believer in a single cause working in film : MONIST

24-across – Author in prime of life, aspire grotesquely to shroud it in darkness : MURIEL

25-across – Cuckoo stealing 500 kerchiefs : BANDANAS

26-across – Composer partial to rubber gloves : BERG

27-across – Excavation in Egyptian capital with illustrations including hieroglyphs, primarily : EARTHWORK

1-down – See 11 : STEEL

2-down – Asian mountain dog ultimately a boxer : BENGALI

3-down – Author interfering with ambassador is less ingratiating : DORIS

4-down – Thus custom-made also, equestrian doesn’t require one : TOORDER

5-down – Agonising marathon laps beginning to bite where one would take a dip : ROMANBATH

6-down – Scam posted for approval : CONSENT

7-down – Sybarite requires some cash to host dance : FREELIVER

13-down – Common utterance from first character in passion play : PLATITUDE

14-down – Author runs into footballer in fabled loser : HARPERLEE

17-down – See 3 : LESSING

18-down – Time for a revolution has to be right under our callous leaders : OCTOBER

20-down – In days of yore, Queen’s ending silence in Game of Thrones? : LONGAGO

22-down – Artist to chew over : MUNCH

23-down – See 24 : SPARK

1-across – 1000 1000 1000 — regular telnet, say : COMMENT

5-across – Grow striking moobs when ingesting powerful drugs, ultimately : BLOSSOM

9-across – Chances, as king’s knight retreats in the opening : RISKS

10-across – Campaign speech concerns exercise : OPERATION

11-across – Ready for new ideas, I depend on swing to take maiden : OPENMINDED

12-across – Deliver joint on Sunday : SHIP

14-across – Scottish heaven and hell? A lot confused about England’s crown : LANDOTHELEAL

18-across – Small drinks for each offspring of athlete : SPORTSPERSON

21-across – Why a printer won’t print noise? : OINK

22-across – They catch MPs sat squabbling over euro problem : MOUSETRAPS

25-across – First girl to swallow gallon in one? Fabulous! : IMAGINARY

26-across – Democrat hailed some carriage : RATHA

27-across – Jazz singer’s festival : HOLIDAY

28-across – Meal project forgets starters in London : EASTEND

1-down – Fraud takes skill to make a packet : CARTON

2-down – Pick up a stumping, then English runs follow Moeen’s debut : MASTER

3-down – Medicine pill initially consumed by some poorly sailors : EPSOMSALTS

4-down – Spike’s t-trumpet : THORN

5-down – Guard busy person with something light, not hard : BEEFEATER

6-down – Work with metal and stone : OPAL

7-down – More delicate girls go crazy over The Kinks : SLIGHTER

8-down – Functioning swimming pool in my exclusive control : MONOPOLY

13-down – When comedian Sue is alone, get up and start baking pastries : LEMONTARTS

15-down – Qualification on the boundaries of clarity and tact : DIPLOMACY

16-down – Surprise is hard when following Villa : ASTONISH

17-down – Rain leads to ruin : DOWNFALL

19-down – Barista’s first latte order causes row : BATTLE

20-down – Not sea? So ___ : ISLAND

23-down – Fashion line inside — it’s painful on the eye : STYLE

24-down – Time for a lark, perhaps : BIRD

7-across – Criminal must lie, covering up a sham : SIMULATE

9-across – Broadcast Mass in French for people in service : AIRMEN

10-across – Axes keep paint evenly off the wall : ZANY

11-across – Look after water supply in Scottish club : MOTHERWELL

12-across – Orca about 45 inches back in the drink : KILLER

14-across – Way to march forwards on pitch, then sulk on the way back : LOCKSTEP

15-across – Not in wrong camp : OUTSIDE

17-across – Criticise lightweight’s characterful text : PANGRAM

20-across – Literary captain stores record and French letters : ALPHABET

22-across – Edging in front of brown Fiat : BORDER

23-across – Disobeying one far-right group going around : INFRINGING

24-across – Herb said to make basis for sauce : ROUX

25-across – Nice one! Pro on lake is to remove bindings : UNLACE

26-across – Artist very cutting in short farce : TRAVESTY

1-down – Sweet farm animal I dressed in fancy suit : TIRAMISU

2-down – Platform by the sea’s as rickety in the end : QUAY

3-down – Jack’s replaced head of tool: it blocks signals : JAMMER

4-down – Knight, south of sunken area, spies Spanish city : VALENCIA

5-down – Brother returning sauce bottles has sweetener : BROWNSUGAR

6-down – Vigour of compilers primarily liking deception : WELLIE

8-down – Praises sex changes, receiving flipping good deal : EXTOLS

13-down – Ultra harsh, after trashing final performance : LASTHURRAH

16-down – Drivel in legal document is shown to be wrong : DEBUNKED

18-down – Decent English queen caught in a tryst : ADEQUATE

19-down – Severe Conservative dismissed by press : STRICT

21-down – Bit of muslin in glove? : LINING

22-down – Super computer’s menu choice : BIGMAC

24-down – Run and charge around in rocky area : REEF