1-across – Female on record wearing fleece, a large number — here? : SHEEPFARM

6-across – Miles 14 to 26, heading for glory that’s brief! : THONG

9-across – How a bird goes for a song that’s audible : CHEEP

10-across – Academy acting to separate two points, literarily, for American statesman : COLORADAN

11-across – See 15 : BAT

12-across – Cold seafood bedecked stall? : STANDOFFISH

14-across – Fit little time between function and drink : TANTRUM

15-across – Two animals, one taken to the middle : CRICKET

16-across – Don’t talk about cryptic clue that’s beyond question — sounds like that sucks? : SQUELCH

19-across – Without family, around a hundred spies : NOTICES

22-across – Newspapers covering second of February, last month, or the one before : PREDECESSOR

23-across – Conscious element ending in grudge match : EGO

24-across – Just English left, island heading backwards : EQUITABLE

26-across – 15 is no more, I should add : WASPS

27-across – Match score : TALLY

28-across – School prom that’s a throwback? : RUGBYBALL

1-down – Lute heard, however, as an old trombone : SACKBUT

2-down – Tennis player and 15 side 11 : EVERTON

3-down – Source of fruit is lemon, say, with yellow centre to feed 11 : PIPISTRELLE

4-down – Applaud a goal, hugging Celtic’s outside left : ACCLAIM

5-down – Musical doctor covering ligatures and operatic overtures : MELODIC

6-down – Jack — knave put another way : TAR

7-down – Diabolical brute getting on collar : OLDNICK

8-down – Warm up, then cool bullet : GUNSHOT

13-down – Waste water redirected into river after a day : FRITTERAWAY

16-down – Sage in fancy panties : SAPIENT

17-down – Different passage of tune, quality : UNEQUAL

18-down – After taking a spin, driver finally qualified — what? Cobblers! : HEELBAR

19-down – Savings banked in the branches? : NESTEGG

20-down – 11 more in the drink : CHELSEA

21-down – Marriage beginning to unravel, work to patch girl up : SPOUSAL

25-down – Test score : TRY

1-across – Make awful, primitive sound: No iron in river! : UGLIFY

5-across – Valuation reduced with chain cut off : ESTRANGE

9-across – Secret drinker reaches end of line in Morecambe? : ESOTERIC

10-across – Withdraws new state in America : UNSAYS

11-across – Coastal country footballer disheartened by team’s kit : GAZA

12-across – State, once, of seed-covered, wild youth : SOUTHYEMEN

13-across – Craft stones: half a smacker : JETSKI

14-across – It’s lucky the composer, Guy, gets left out : TALISMAN

16-across – Turn your hand to flat-pack furniture with this? : ALLENKEY

19-across – Where some academics collect one exercise, as basis for play? : SCRIPT

21-across – Off-colour anagrams emerge thus : OUTOFSORTS

23-across – See 6 : BASE

24-across – Not an owner stocking quality unit? : DENIER

25-across – Awful weapon verges on a non-ring explosive : NERVEGAS

26-across – Casual tense employed in old female soldiers’ essays : ATTEMPTS

27-across – Aware of not just X’s and Z’s being pronounced? : WISETO

2-down – Subterfuge a vital expedient, when one’s lacking as a writer : GUSTAVEFLAUBERT

3-down – Crying salty secretion found here! : INTEARS

4-down – Standard police department’s check : YARDSTICK

5-down – Measurement unit applied to low grade reddish-brown coat : ENCRUST

6-down – Contact that hurts me — possibly beats being on the outside : TOUCH

7-down – Swelling muscles tax : ABSCESS

8-down – Author bloke made off on drugs with Neddy, a TV presenter : GUYDEMAUPASSANT

15-down – Goes on and on about blemish that leads to blown fuse? : LASTSTRAW

17-down – Affecting revolutionary book one has : EMOTIVE

18-down – Minimum wear, if frosty, round northern rocks : YFRONTS

20-down – Like Adam, after Eve cut down the tormenting? : RIBLESS

22-down – See 11 : STRIP

7-across – One taking a puckish Laertes? : STEALER

8-across – Worker managed to catch cold — bitter in here? : BEERCAN

9-across – God of war, essentially : ARES

10-across – Regan struggles to eat syrup : GRENADINE

12-across – Warmer girl not entirely laid-back, a beauty : VENUS

13-across – Party backing right royal residence : BALMORAL

15-across – One’s up for playing this Shakespearean character, not half! : POLO

16-across – Stinker heading for sailing vessel : SEWER

17-across – Conservative painting revolutionary for muse : CLIO

18-across – Capital city positioned around new Shakespearean character : SANTIAGO

20-across – Mushroom, extra light starter : MOREL

21-across – Shockingly nude moobs revealed : UNBOSOMED

22-across – Piece of pie, as yummy as piece of cake : EASY

24-across – Despicable circles delay Hamlet : VILLAGE

25-across – Shakespearean character left consumed by perfidious suitor : TROILUS

1-down – Cooler mix : STIR

2-down – Voice needing love in a stuck-up Shakespeare character : BASSANIO

3-down – Trained singer is king : REIGNS

4-down – Weaving I relate with Olivier’s Bottom, as trader : RETAILER

5-down – Character who’s Shakespearean or Chinese : ORSINO

6-down – Topless swimmer, Shakespearean character : KATE

11-down – Play Shakespearean character before Othello turns up : ELBOWROOM

12-down – Quite highly-strung Shakespearean character? : VIOLA

14-down – Shakespearean character, Lear I suspect : ARIEL

16-down – Ram or bull, perhaps, features in describing goat, primarily : STARSIGN

17-down – Shakespearean character was afflicted, big bird upset : CORDELIA

19-down – Antagonist ultimately getting turned over by key Shakespearean character : TYBALT

20-down – New day inspiring cardinal after uprising : MODERN

21-down – Single person close to you, fool : UNIT

23-down – Shakespearean character getting Arsenal promoted : SNUG

1-across – Jilted lover writes online story for financial benefit : EXPENSEACCOUNT

9-across – Seeks further profit from check clothing : REINVESTS

10-across – Lag behind army corps, gathering information for the Americans : RECON

11-across – Scales part of extremely stony, black, bare hill : SYBIL

12-across – Assistant wrapping small hands round beer and oversexed American? : SALESGIRL

13-across – Fair game to pocket diamonds, around 7 or 8? : EVENTIDE

14-across – Cut clothing for girl, one wild child : MOWGLI

17-across – Haulier short of right fare down under : TUCKER

19-across – This pace is wrong for take-off : PASTICHE

22-across – Leader from English paper: wonderful, penetrating feature : CHIEFTAIN

24-across – Love getting called a hairy beast : ORANG

25-across – Clip top from sargasso weed : SPEED

26-across – Switch contains electrical current conductor : TOSCANINI

27-across – Green area’s politicians admitted to loathing bill by Tory PM : HAMPSTEADHEATH

1-down – Leave camp’s position with terribly imprecise scout : EUROSCEPTICISM

2-down – Tending to follow Putin’s lead, possibly bent : PLIABLE

3-down – Little work requiring 15 days and lots of character? : NOVELETTE

4-down – Part of city street crossed by European on main track : EASTSIDE

5-down – Station guards left large building : CASTLE

6-down – Something in perfume has men and gentleman spinning : ORRIS

7-down – Turning in century, man in game’s making a score : NICKING

8-down – Lenin, with sigh, resolved to tour steppe, unpretentiously : INPLAINENGLISH

15-down – Doctor’s promise to squeeze writer’s back : OSTEOPATH

16-down – Lady’s boring design, flipping tasteless white stuff : MAGNESIA

18-down – It’s fabulous being rich, a poor compiler’s gathered : CHIMERA

20-down – Target for red vehicle skirting unknown, hot area : CZARINA

21-down – Knocks seaman over on junk : RATTAT

23-down – Scoffed at University Blue : FEDUP

8-across – Drink in a pub not entirely cold sent back by military commander : COCACOLA

9-across – Delight in the morning milk : AMUSE

10-across – Weapon observed during the peepshow : EPEE

11-across – Very deep saying recalled, amid praise : BOTTOMLESS

12-across – One’s emptied volume into river, the entire works : OEUVRE

14-across – Member, in being welcomed by leaders in Chinese government, on the up : CLIMBING

15-across – Infatuated with food, boy guzzles : STUCKON

17-across – Within walls of park, a bitter brought over for one of those on the gate? : PADLOCK

20-across – Drinking stout, the highlight of sainthood Brendan finally put on some weight! : HALFATON

22-across – Drug for case of zoophobia, heading for cage : PROZAC

23-across – City, capital city, one becoming nothing in endless chaos : METROPOLIS

24-across – Scotch is a weapon : FOIL

25-across – It’s rich to serve rum and coke up! : POUND

26-across – One beyond twelve brewing green tea : TEENAGER

1-down – Alcoholic drinking Pepsi sadly, most sentimental : SOPPIEST

2-down – See 25 : CAKE

3-down – One drink or two taking effect on blue fluid : DOUBLE

4-down – Framework I see in coffee : LATTICE

5-down – Pottery, a jar cut in isinglass : MAJOLICA

6-down – A singing bear going after port — uproar! : HULLABALOO

7-down – Those seven sailed, one short, one of four : SEASON

13-down – Loud, very boisterous of course, one must be restrained : VOCIFEROUS

16-down – In middle of moss, fish eating finest molluscs : OCTOPODS

18-down – Notes produced by this wine to drink at home : CLARINET

19-down – Behind the door of condominium, indulgence ultimately swell : INFLATE

21-down – Drink fizzy pop in Levantine city : ALEPPO

22-down – Curdled drink, sweetener served up like jelly : POSSET

24-down – Colours of spectral phenomena fading, each one’s ending : FLAG