8-across – Particular rum : PECULIAR

9-across – Bugs catch a sound : ANNOYS

10-across – Meal in anorak, back to front : DINNER

11-across – One looking for seasonal treat : MINCEPIE

12-across – Track bird : RAIL

13-across – Maybe Cassandra’s turning these into pillars : PROPHETESS

15-across – Drink and drug taken into account in error : SLOEGIN

16-across – Reporter for The Listener hard-pressed? : FIREARM

18-across – Apartment is on film during final move : MAISONETTE

19-across – Point some clue ‘as taken : EAST

20-across – Roman general almost parched quaffing good drink : AGRICOLA

22-across – Character for whom 10 repeated eight times? : BATMAN

23-across – He was known for his rounded figures in fractions of numbers minus a thousand : RUBENS

24-across – One planting forest in Germany, drawing lots : GARDENER

1-down – Advice for one with wet laundry wishing to be carefree? : LETITALLHANGOUT

2-down – Unwelcome Australian native breaking wind burps, one short of oxygen – flee! : FUNNELWEBSPIDER

3-down – Lecturer accepts Sir to be scrapped at college – it brought about indiscipline : DISRUPTION

4-down – Gripper’s swindle, gripping swindle : CRAMPON

5-down – The police bearing grass : LAWN

6-down – When umbrella is up, is it down? : UNDERTHEWEATHER

7-down – Is reply made at odds with sale? Don’t ask me! : MYLIPSARESEALED

14-down – End up in almost total misery with composer in European city : HEIDELBERG

17-down – 8 way to roam : STRANGE

21-down – Oven – what’s put in it? Not starter : OAST

1-across – Women of Germany turned over in mind game : WILDFOWL

5-across – Bid has power to reproduce sofa : CANAPE

9-across – Sailor on mound for the most part a hypocrite : TARTUFFE

10-across – Hurt bad tip : OFFEND

12-across – Union’s on record about having an advantage : ONEUP

13-across – Obstructively defend – nothing original in evasive manoeuvre : STONEWALL

14-across – Rumour about stingy business graduate – is this a … : ONEARMBANDIT

18-across – … miser? No – review with penny, which provides wealth : MONEYSPINNER

21-across – Always missing at end of week, he has a late drink : SUNDOWNER

23-across – The point of 7 or 3? : NORTH

24-across – Setter stays with spy master in the same place : IBIDEM

25-across – Even doing joint, here goes mine! : TURNSPIT

26-across – Semicircular advice to Annie: It’s a little valuable : NUGGET

27-across – The wanderer prosecutes over headless corpse’s first appearing : ODYSSEUS

1-down – A rower’s drug consumption, up front, his own circles : WETBOB

2-down – Where provisions are left, more ‘abit-forming : LARDER

3-down – Prince pays pauper pittance – an old coin for starters? : FOURPENNY

4-down – Is this the purpose of a Dutch auction? : WIFESWAPPING

6-down – Start to film in a story – what’s it all about? : ALFIE

7-down – Australian city set down in a semicircle : ADELAIDE

8-down – Tissue paper’s beginning to line object after a delay : ENDPLATE

11-down – Grassland worn down? We both agree about it : COMMONGROUND

15-down – What confines Terpsichore & Co when outside range : APENNINES

16-down – Failure to ring embassy : OMISSION

17-down – Continua? : UNENDING

19-down – Good Jack’s contracted influenza : GRIPPE

20-down – Mother of Achilles in this film? : THETIS

22-down – Such characters fill robes effortlessly! : OBESE

9-across – Parrot sealing fate is without a chance – all that happens to it? : LIFESTORY

10-across – Soft and luxurious : PLUSH

11-across – Wild thing ‘as to go to the gallows : MUSTANG

12-across – Friend to pocket green, this for the pot : CHILLUM

13-across – The Sound of Music is capital : SEOUL

14-across – Top bloke will dry up holding dry run shortly : PATRIARCH

16-across – Employing cells with cell, hot ice cream melts : ELECTROCHEMICAL

19-across – Document writer from The Sun in charge, riot breaking out : SOLICITOR

21-across – Important man to snatch award briefly : NABOB

22-across – Flier achieves half height in bed : COALTIT

23-across – Vile, becoming rotten in month – throw it : JAVELIN

24-across – Guide employer round hospital : USHER

25-across – See 4 : TIMENOSEE

1-down – Welsh town top to toe with flowers – great stuff! : OLDMASTERS

2-down – Horse cryptically described at sea : OFFSHORE

3-down – Country needing prime minister without extremes? : ISRAEL

4-down – Entury? : LONG

5-down – One striking perfect shot, Yorkshire opener held up by scorer : EYECATCHER

6-down – Select film regularly repeated featuring Bob Hope : OPTIMISM

7-down – Did he serve wine from Churchill’s cabinet? : BUTLER

8-down – May I draw your attention to a bit of skirt : AHEM

14-down – Old pro offering definition for 19? : PROSTITUTE

15-down – Huge salamander brings misery to drinking session : HELLBENDER

17-down – I bitch when sent up, then go silent : TACITURN

18-down – Jewish mystic troupe touring island : CABALIST

20-down – For your answer look for hate, perhaps : LOATHE

21-down – Prayers said for some chicken – oven awaits : NOVENA

22-down – Group providing hit : CLUB

23-down – Start to desert ship? : JUMP

1-across – If nobbled when following the flag, Don’t tell him, Pike! : JACKFISH

5-across – Get information on right to see one’s children : ACCESS

9-across – Italian girl’s detailed organising potential : SIGNORINA

11-across – See 1 down : MARIA

12-across – A part of the body : HALFTIMBERED

15-across – Laugh and I’ll be sunk : HAHA

16-across – Simple diet enabling one to drive safely? : SPEEDLIMIT

18-across – Shakes top off with exploding fuel: I’m so sorry : REMORSEFUL

19-across – It shows the beating was for your benefit : WEAL

21-across – No use keeping line hot after tea in the mortuary : CHARNELHOUSE

24-across – See 1 down : AZNAR

25-across – How to cope with discovering Pa can’t be favourite : PUTABRAVE

26-across – Talk about wood and walk about showily : SASHAY

27-across – See 25 : FACEONIT

1-down – Vessel containing some funny song with first and last name of former PM : JOSE

2-down – About how old are you in prison? : CAGE

3-down – Dance or fall out : FLORAL

4-down – Meal not at home, meal without sauce: keep it to 25 27 : STIFFUPPERLIP

6-down – Coming man summoning tent-dwellers to meal? : CAMPBELL

7-down – Tee up outside paintwork at bottom for hearing aid : EARTRUMPET

8-down – Puts up with cash register not moving : STANDSTILL

10-down – Giving occupant a fee I reckon a panacea : ANICECUPOFTEA

13-down – Riding crop starting on girl that’s not very good : THIRDCLASS

14-down – The best girl gets sparklers : CHAMPAGNES

17-down – Region without rain not right for the turnstone : ARENARIA

20-down – Turn black to be fit for service : USABLE

22-down – Desirous for trial, the very least of a notion : FAIN

23-down – See 22 : TEST

1-across – Making inroads as a diva in Detroit : DIANAROSS

6-across – With nothing to lose, you enter local around corner : BUYUP

9-across – Little liar walking arrogantly on the road in 14 down : WALTZINGMATILDA

10-across – Queen leaving piece of Mexico for a piece of China : YUAN

11-across – See 15 : PATERSON

14-across – Breaking law, forget that blush of satisfaction : AFTERGLOW

15-across – Stop it, Miss March! Father’s performing his 9! : BANJO

16-across – Mrs Jeremy Fisher’s issue having a hand in the tin : SPAWN

18-across – Running for cover? Hardly! : STREAKING

20-across – Corrective face-saver adopted by King of Spain : REVISORY

21-across – See 17 : FAIR

25-across – Lor! A hundred million men smashing a symbol of Washington : LINCOLNMEMORIAL

26-across – Astaire’s partner Madeleine, not Bunthorne’s! : ADELE

27-across – Backhanders part of this player’s service? : SHAMATEUR

1-down – Librarian’s eyes watering, so they say, with this classification? : DEWEY

2-down – Well, anyway ‘e’s in the charts on time : ATLEAST

3-down – With which the old joiner joins, they say : ADZE

4-down – Napoleon’s sound exists from Otranto … Inkerman … : OINK

5-down – Pottery from Armenia was shattered : SAMIANWARE

6-down – Pulse, say, in the h-head? : BUTTERBEAN

7-down – The old officer’s on good terms with Boris : YELTSIN

8-down – Gregory’s noted legacy from the Steppes? : PLAINSONG

12-down – Application required here for nose reduction? : GRINDSTONE

13-down – Show solidarity! No slackers needed! : CLOSERANKS

14-down – See 17 : AUSTRALIA

17-down – I travel Africa and USA with a diversionary alternative to 9 : ADVANCE

19-down – J.L.’s one Enigma Variation? : IMAGINE

22-down – Line manager the ultimate authority? : RULER

23-down – The pen of Zeus? : LEDA

24-down – She’s between borrower and lender : NORA