1-across – Briefly, with a moment shared: How do you do? : MODUSOPERANDI

9-across – More dismal, avoiding half that’s right : DINGIER

10-across – Winner posed after eating beef stew : SAFEBET

11-across – Said to be 40, fast and of top quality : EXCELLENT

12-across – Game without front elevation : RIDGE

13-across – Suitable for returning swarm : TEEM

14-across – Headed east to order: No fishing here! : THEDEADSEA

16-across – Robots care about language : SERBOCROAT

19-across – Provide resources for entertainment at Land’s End : FUND

20-across – Transport system, the first to go chaotic : MESSY

21-across – Desperate wish to run round garden, not starting off wonky : SKEWWHIFF

23-across – Not one of two or three in disarray : NEITHER

24-across – By cupboard love : CLOSETO

25-across – Pares back hopeless business with 50% cuts, making for trouble getting off : SLEEPLESSNESS

1-down – Up and down journalists found in seedy dive during cinema production : MANICDEPRESSIVE

2-down – Should one heal oneself, using exercise? : DRILL

3-down – In school it’s brave to cry : SCREECH

4-down – Presumed one sent outside : POSITED

5-down – Fancy top and slip in actual consultation : REFERRAL

6-down – Buggery? It’s a personal matter : NOBODYSBUSINESS

7-down – Engineer fit handle on approval — no 25 here : INTHELANDOFNOD

8-down – What ITV master needs badly : ADVERTISEMENTS

15-down – Where one might find cosmetic treatment for car and driver : BODYSHOP

17-down – Booklet: What to do next : RESERVE

18-down – Outlines are essential to wallpaper customers : APERCUS

22-down – Reported difficulty in one piece : WHOLE

1-across – Very warm keeping distance, almost very cold being instructive : HOMILETIC

6-across – I faint without love, in a manner of speaking : IDIOM

9-across – Exact number: is it held by Christian social worker? : DISTRICTVISITOR

10-across – Remove protection from 18 : PEEL

11-across – Fast girl first in Georgian city : ATALANTA

14-across – Dishonesty at the front applied to string : FIDDLEBOW

15-across – Lock showing tension with top removed : TRESS

16-across – Shakespearean character going round without error? About right : OSRIC

18-across – Article follows lives by top cat and top soldier, where house has keys : ISLEOFMAN

20-across – Quarters that can survive — that one wishes one had : ENVIABLE

21-across – Dessert cooked by tramp last month : PLUM

25-across – Having a strong local accent? More or less : BROADLYSPEAKING

26-across – Dormice are oddly more dehydrated : DRIER

27-across – Land of Hope formed aria — run it : RURITANIA

1-down – Brought before the bench, end of which said to make sense : HADUP

2-down – Err in interpreting lost letter from novelist of village life : MISREAD

3-down – Then are cats heard to soar in 14 down? : LARK

4-down – Food for friar : TUCK

5-down – Outlaw civil analyst in exchange for heating aid : CAVITYWALL

6-down – See 5 : INSULATION

7-down – Concentrated in Tennessee, so to speak : INTENSE

8-down – One of seven Taliban leaders imprisoned by Egyptian leader at Pole : MORTALSIN

12-down – Historical sitcom, possibly worse without something missing : BLACKADDER

13-down – Pray church leader with bible to give us another look : BBCIPLAYER

14-down – Bottom of river at border? : FLOWERBED

17-down – Meat wrapped by artist with most of 14 across, part 1 : RAVIOLI

19-down – Scottish island, one — nearly one — in part of window : MULLION

22-down – Volcanic stuff in periodical, most of it : MAGMA

23-down – See 3 : SPUR

24-down – See 21 : TART

1-across – Boy with great expectations owed extraordinary unknown quantity, shut up : PIPEDOWN

5-across – Reportedly spotted a hairy thing : SPIDER

9-across – Junket by Labour leader and shadow chancellor in shorts and shirt, sportingly : FOOTBALL

10-across – Those helping young people in bureau, nice folk : UNICEF

12-across – Cut around lakes with hard blade on the farm : PLOUGHSHARE

15-across – See 9 : STRIP

17-across – See 21 : THEROVERS

18-across – Still awaiting salesman to collect one carbon copy : REPLICATE

19-across – Body suits the wrong way round, facing initially to the rear : STIFF

20-across – Spin round gradually at first, following someone in restaurant, alluring type : SWEATERGIRL

24-across – See 23 : SPRING

25-across – Temporary suspension gives a diva a change of heart : ABEYANCE

26-across – One causing friction with sweetheart, finds plaything all soaped up? : RUBBER

27-across – Generous society lacking cobblers? : SELFLESS

1-down – Struggle to overtake backmarkers in particular, hungry for some pie! : PUFFPASTRY

2-down – Still sexy, old fruit having bottom wiped in pub : PHOTOGRAPH

3-down – Base lifted, little word from caveman having to fix a computer : DEBUG

4-down – Satellite dish under woodwork for starters, possibly in a good position : WELLSITUATED

6-down – Dynamic Duo seen with person, slow and clumsy : PONDEROUS

7-down – See 26 : DUCK

8-down – One necked by an Elizabethan that’s uncultured, we hear : RUFF

11-down – Hollywood legend having come round dined on top of tall furniture item : GATELEGTABLE

13-down – Ability to recover home without deposit initially left one to invest : RESILIENCE

14-down – Value fuse, unless blown : USEFULNESS

16-down – 23 24 in this event is logical, not entirely in the pink : PUISSANCE

21-down – 9 15 : ROYOF

22-down – Old leader gets around houses : TSAR

23-down – Modern revolution grips Bahrain, internationally hated leaders getting ousted all over the place : ARAB

5-across – Insignificant river in 2 : TINPOT

6-across – Strong river in 2 : ROBUST

9-across – Country setter has 2 briefly after 11 : MEXICO

10-across – Repercussions from breaking bow in 2 : BLOWBACK

11-across – Tremendous acceleration in 2 : HUGE

12-across – Controlled strictly, say : REGIMENTED

13-across – Fundamentalist belief of Zionist, sadly beheaded in 2 : CREATIONISM

18-across – Bullied by French beast holding one in 2 : BROWBEATEN

21-across – Vocalisation of friendship, when separated : BARK

22-across – Minor annoyance demands slight reduction of cost in 2 : PINPRICK

23-across – Wanting too much from edition in 2 : GREEDY

24-across – Cover over books of empty talk maybe from 10 : HOTAIR

25-across – Humbug puts silver in 2 : BLAGUE

1-down – Contrive to energise with change of polarity : ENGINEER

2-down – After poisonous gas, look black and go red : COLOUR

3-down – Driver to test the golden isle : MOTORMAN

4-down – South African city bar renovated in 2 : DURBAN

5-down – Bound to be busy : TIEDUP

7-down – Just the thing to let one travel : TICKET

8-down – Married criminal’s misplaced article: take leader off for disastrous decision : ABIGMISTAKE

14-down – Primate’s go slow providing appetiser : APERITIF

15-down – Drown in beer mugs, possibly : SUBMERGE

16-down – Spirit of anger enveloping one : WRAITH

17-down – Crossing game : BRIDGE

19-down – American deer to hand back for Italian one : WAPITI

20-down – Slight problem for horse, say, in river : NIGGLE

1-across – Desire to hold member quite close? : WARMISH

5-across – Crossed lines in hospital department after the best tool : PICKAXE

9-across – Cricketer’s ending with an item of his as capital : RABAT

10-across – See 27 : STOPSHERE

11-across – Crook lied and inmate murdered : ELIMINATED

12-across – Black and white monster caught about half way across zebra crossing, knocked over : ORCA

14-across – Bank part of this 2 1, perhaps? : UNDERGROUND

18-across – Great floods possibly dispersing — about time! : SPRINGTIDES

21-across – See 6 : AWAY

22-across – One in a suit after a short cut, a banker no more : BOBDIAMOND

25-across – Raw egg I flipped onto granny’s back — that being the plan! : ITINERARY

26-across – One’s served time as a political defector, perhaps? : EXCON

27-across – County requiring supreme woman to get in there — reminder on president’s desk? : THEBUCK

28-across – See 14 : NETWORK

1-down – See 2 : WARREN

2-down – Teacher fighting for accommodation in rent review — 27 10 : RABBIT

3-down – Two grunting bonkers — that’s worth a look : INTRIGUING

4-down – Underwear on a prophet : HOSEA

5-down – One, before entering upcoming depression, was enterprising : PIONEERED

6-down – No players available then, but a solitary person? : CAST

7-down – Those of similar maturity go and argue about pedantries, primarily : AGEGROUP

8-down – Looker that’s sweet? : EYECANDY

13-down – Drop in here to see publicist : PRESSAGENT

15-down – Same symbol, man underlining it in black : DITTOMARK

16-down – Writer, for example, is inset, surprisingly : ESSAYIST

17-down – I earn : URBANITE

19-down – Boss hot on composer, unpinned? : HONCHO

20-down – Good, unpleasantly wet, small bottled port : GDANSK

23-down – Make money as senior master? : DOYEN

24-down – Lover’s front talked about : BEAU