Clues

1-across – Occasional butt from goat following girl : APRILFOOL

9-across – Easter display – of troops? : PARADE

10-across – Fast finish : EASTERDAY

11-across – Capital investment for Easter : BONNET

12-across – Retaliation concerning April’s odd tricks ultimately : REPRISALS

13-across – Cuts and shares out : SHEARS

17-across – A fool to be taken for a ride, not only today : ASS

19-across – Equivalent to 15 : VIRTUAL

20-across – A Look Back in Anger sort of play? : PASSION

21-across – Non-professional way to provide a 31? : LAY

23-across – Fierce storm on the coast of Brazil : RECIFE

27-across – Five hundred wrongly laid off on Sunday – they are out now : DAFFODILS

28-across – Stored face backwards in the end : LAIDIN

29-across – Marsh plant providing a variety of materials : MARESTAIL

30-across – Second thoughts about offensive jokes played today : PRANKS

31-across – Segregate something that may be present : EASTEREGG

2-down – Plea to the pleader : PRAYER

3-down – Confine one after another, we hear : INTERN

4-down – Softer sort of wood : FOREST

5-down – Carole’s making announcements : ORACLES

6-down – He takes pains to provide pleasure : MASOCHIST

7-down – Cook’s vessel, one seen in rain, beam obscured : BAINMARIE

8-down – Fast plane is not re-ordered, so initially gets rid of the cargo : JETTISONS

14-down – Did not turn out as intended : PRACTICAL

15-down – Realistic sort of joke for today : CUFFLINKS

16-down – Belt buckles worn by men : ALL

17-down – A couple of pounds for the lot : SPY

18-down – Look for a mole : ALABAMA

22-down – State of a student gaining a degree, then another : AFFECT

24-down – Pretend to have influence : EDITOR

25-down – He’s in charge, but has a leader : FLYING

26-down – Taking flight, running fast : OVERSLEPT

1-across – This woman, they say, needs my body : MASSEUSE

5-across – See 2 : SQUARE

9-across – Original Koppites, given to wit, round on exploiters : SCOUSERS

10-across – Outlet where Samson was eyeless, headless and confined by lawyers : BAZAAR

12-across – No opening for cyber-physiological style? : IONIC

13-across – Contract bidding : TENDERING

14-across – Cave in Bethlehem, one up a diversion, taking one hour : EATHUMBLEPIE

18-across – Slaying one gannet; one tern revived : ENTERTAINING

21-across – Kicked by departing Inuit, was it? : ICEBUCKET

23-across – Joe of 18 26 : ORTON

24-across – Last attempt to go out with it : TRENDY

25-across – Like a fiddler’s elbow in a donut blender : INANDOUT

26-across – What-d’you-call-‘im’s spray gun? : MISTER

27-across – Bound to give the baby a squeeze : SWADDLED

1-down – Maverick, valedictory Western role for Monroe or Gable … : MISFIT

2-down – … disaster – so ran a sequel: Here Come the Rangers! : SLOANE

3-down – Soft spot for bosun or midshipman? : EASYCHAIR

4-down – Evidence of confinement with hard labour : STRETCHMARKS

6-down – Tremble at fault’s failing : QUAKE

7-down – What inspired pin-up to enter love feast? : AGANIPPE

8-down – Roger eagerly brewing tea for this prime minister : EARLGREY

11-down – How soon will women combine with unity? An enigma : ANYMINUTENOW

15-down – The first murderer slept here? : LANDOFNOD

16-down – Progressively elevating sloth in episcopal joints? : SERIATIM

17-down – Society meeting the objective in Merseyside : STHELENS

19-down – Hot, wearing bikini in Scotland : ATHOLL

20-down – Eleven as one : UNITED

22-down – A French precipitation, they say, is hardly the thing : UNDUE

1-across – Boat that’s easier to move : LIGHTER

5-across – Blind actors hide behind it : CURTAIN

9-across – Trance over cover stories told by Chaucer? : CANTERBURYTALES

10-across – Learns to lose initial gains : EARNS

11-across – Reckless lawman embarrassed by wickedness : DAREDEVIL

12-across – The turn of a doctor to act, having swallowed steak: a real advantage : TRUMPCARD

14-across – Company professional comes back into civil service : CORPS

15-across – What’s yellowish from Pitlochry? : OCHRY

16-across – Making haste in trade, which is not good for workers : SWEATSHOP

18-across – Salt I sprinkled on chap’s magic stones : TALISMANS

21-across – Dishonest scheme to copy, cutting credit : CAPER

22-across – Two-way trading for charity? : BRINGANDBUYSALE

23-across – Tory journalist vindicated : RIGHTED

24-across – A big blow for English MP entering a quiz! : TEMPEST

1-down – Finest and most delicate cat lies around : LACIEST

2-down – Kind and supporting the hungry guest’s desire : GENEROUSHELPING

3-down – This religious philosophy requires that they must hold bent hoops : THEOSOPHY

4-down – Fanatical artist attracts an offer : RABID

5-down – The vehicle reaches the crest in this case : CARTRIDGE

6-down – Assessed time taken by favourite going north : RATED

7-down – It’s everywhere, but very disorganised : ALLOVERTHEPLACE

8-down – Seen rising to embrace street lady’s top for cuddles : NESTLES

13-down – Avoided alcohol as a cause of dishonour when lying in a bed : ABSTAINED

14-down – Disaster: cat on moving clay stops miaowing initially : CATACLYSM

15-down – Strong ale brewed once a month : OCTOBER

17-down – Faultless Polish : PERFECT

19-down – Sounds like place is an eyesore : SIGHT

20-down – Stop short of sabotage, but put your foot in it : SABOT

1-across – Slides and photographs taken for talk : CHUTES

5-across – Buffer state head meets East European : POLISHER

9-across – Current member’s snobbish, hollow and cocky : IMPUDENT

10-across – Sailing ship makes bay from the sound : BARQUE

11-across – One has placed an order for The Times : CHRONOLOGIST

13-across – Bow taken by little bird? : KNOT

14-across – Rings for ties, American style : SLEEPERS

17-across – Pleased to have one of these flowers, in short : GLADIOLI

18-across – Animal producing beef, good cut : ROAN

20-across – Resigning, reputation having fallen : STANDINGDOWN

23-across – Monastic, or of this world? : OBLATE

24-across – Gun to make soldiers safe, reportedly : REPEATER

25-across – Accelerator can noisily exceed 100 mph? About right! : BETATRON

26-across – That lot banked gold, the result of speculation : THEORY

2-down – Low sound and soft to carry with difficulty : HUMP

3-down – Cut right at end, perhaps : TRUNCATED

4-down – Drink to keep girl on the right lines : SHERRY

5-down – Find touch : PUTONESFINGERON

6-down – Slurred song, gathered round musical instrument : LIBELLED

7-down – Son to Holy Joe is a rare youth : SPRIG

8-down – Horseman breaking a rein, out of the hunt : EQUESTRIAN

12-down – Made to hold in one’s wind, perhaps : INFLATABLE

15-down – Father in tears at time of birth : PARENTAGE

16-down – Bully leading batting order in game : DOMINEER

19-down – Dish in lively nightclub is heartless : HOTPOT

21-down – Lake’s former name is name taken by a state on the up : NYASA

22-down – Take a dim view of mole’s noise : PEER

1-across – Polish figure by Italian crossing : RUBICON

5-across – A show-off, the bounder : PRANCER

9-across – Stoker catches a quarter of the fish : BREAM

10-across – Dressed to kill, perhaps, either sex established : UNIFORMED

11-across – Lack of warmth shown by a French fan is almost icy : UNENTHUSIASTIC

13-across – Vessel heard turning in the wind : VANE

14-across – Quiet walkway will be costlier to reconstruct : CLOISTER

17-across – Young creature getting comfortable : NESTLING

18-across – Flag officer chases group of women : WILT

21-across – Large, thick, oboe-shaped vegetable : GLOBEARTICHOKE

23-across – Wretched diner gets into muddle: what a performance : RENDITION

24-across – Impish fellow going into the river backwards : ELFIN

25-across – Confer the right name : ENTITLE

26-across – Coming back, traveller in time met the Devil : TEMPTER

1-down – Dress up for York : ROBE

2-down – Obsession with buzzing in the head? : BEEINONESBONNET

3-down – Bond that puts compiler in the money : CEMENT

4-down – Swap hearts for ace and get a chewy sweet for nothing : NOUGHT

5-down – Line in nautical footwear? : PLIMSOLL

6-down – A name-dropping sentimentalist, fragrantly distinctive : AROMATIC

7-down – Chance upon an idea: be there with a little drink to introduce slender Annan : COMETOTHINKOFIT

8-down – Marxist city with gold goddess needs to change the colour scheme : REDECORATE

12-down – Graven data could be innovative : AVANTGARDE

15-down – A man upset by first one concerned with mental illness : ALIENIST

16-down – Pep up with a small measure before the soldiers come in : ENERGISE

19-down – Nothing around to catch the bird : LINNET

20-down – Indifference to whatever you may cough up? : PHLEGM

22-down – Proboscis not beginning to rise creates a knot : KNUR