Daily Answers

9-across – Sign of very independent move to crush queen : VIRGO

10-across – Vegetable served up by inn outside Northern Ireland retreat : AUBERGINE

11-across – Source of story of Egyptian god scam : RACONTEUR

12-across – Composer about to back away from gun carrier? : HOLST

13-across – Freely confess: ‘Ridiculous bonus over short time’ : UNBOSOM

15-across – Smith, the singer, has song for a biblical region : SAMARIA

17-across – Lay hands on book of not so great size : BLESS

18-across – Though possibly Adam, right? Under no circumstances : NOT

20-across – Departure from idea thrills : DEATH

22-across – Laid-back court accepts English as a form of language : DIALECT

25-across – Mavericks getting female to keep in good shape? : MISFITS

26-across – Cherished origins of royal and ancient tourist destination : PETRA

27-across – Two-sided legislation about a rate change : BILATERAL

30-across – Literary heroine, awfully gung-ho on the inside, but lacking good resilience : TOUGHNESS

31-across – Lyricist’s after power charge : PRICE

1-down – See 18 : EVER

2-down – Very hot situation: cubicle door finally blown : CRUCIBLE

3-down – See 8 : DOWN

4-down – Far right in Texas involved in notorious trial town with a new representative : SALESMAN

5-down – Be protected by a plant, a tufty one : IBERIS

6-down – Scientist from Syracuse building bridges across island and sea : ARCHIMEDES

7-down – Daisy, perhaps, works on US TV series : MILLER

8-down – Broadcast about hospital department deputy initially being put away : SENT

13-down – Withdraw tender without any prompting? : UNBID

14-down – English audacity, with opponents getting laundered cash : SASSENACHS

16-down – When embracing Latin American hero is painful : ACHES

19-down – If paint is this, it produces discomfort : TIMELESS

21-down – One lot of detectives having shower, possibly cause of bad atmosphere : ACIDRAIN

23-down – Hit film comedy, Garfunkel, followed by second half of biblical epic : ARTHUR

24-down – Handy device prescribed by the doctor? : TABLET

26-down – Way to hit hard : PATH

28-down – Small shark’s peak energy : TOPE

29-down – Hull element turns up for Peak District town : LEEK

1-across – Pelvic floor exercises for footballers : LIVERPOOLFC

9-across – Heart attack may be actually about right : INFARCT

10-across – Excites readers? : KINDLES

11-across – Free trader is stocking Goya, Chagall and Cezanne at last : ARTDEALER

12-across – Left murder victim’s identific­ation tag : LABEL

13-across – Move swiftly into the westbound autostrada : DART

14-across – Old fogies wandering around south London neighbourhood : ISLEOFDOGS

16-across – Didn’t cheat, having toyed with blonde : PLAYEDFAIR

19-across – Cheese is available in limited amounts : EDAM

21-across – Leaving nursing home, sign on form for discharge : RHEUM

22-across – Where to have a cuppa? With commander in rented building : TEAGARDEN

24-across – Celebration that might follow discovery of a dinosaur’s femur? : SHINDIG

25-across – W is for weapon : WARHEAD

26-across – Try underground in trade, reversing basic principles : GOLDENRULES

1-down – Finish last, beset by flat tire and engine failure, potentially fatal : LIFETHREATENING

2-down – Passion of Dior ultimately found within vintage Vogue covers : VERVE

3-down – Conductor’s toys : RATTLES

4-down – It’s mighty fine to go round a street endlessly : OAKTREE

5-down – To begin with, lack of energy overwhelms wild fling’s durability : LONGLIFE

6-down – Monitor feature that’s needed for premeditated murder : COLDBLOODEDNESS

7-down – Harry’s one drawback, capturing the heart of citizens : WIZARD

8-down – Finally note charity’s songs of praise : PSALMS

15-down – Latest version making me old? : NEWMODEL

16-down – Expression wears thin when spoken : PHRASE

17-down – Lethargy shown by overweight Miguel taking clothes off : FATIGUE

18-down – Intelligence about artist giving rise to natural conflict : IRAQWAR

20-down – Lament getting temperamental around November : MONODY

23-down – A range that can be heard : AURAL

1-across – Adult female has messed about with speed : FULLSTEAMAHEAD

8-across – Way to bitch regularly — not if this : STOIC

9-across – Stage name of chairman carrying large first book? : MALVOLIO

11-across – Film literally produced down under : AMADEUS

12-across – Proverbial madman on tail of nervous wreck : SHATTER

13-across – Simpson breaking bugger’s back where fights occur : DOJOS

15-across – Blast, say, dynamite left by sailor around vacated emplacement : EXPLETIVE

17-across – Unpredictable state — storm is brewing : HITORMISS

20-across – Bent solver caught by question : ASKEW

21-across – Cherished getting nonsense on tap : PETCOCK

23-across – Rabble-rousing shunning leader in newspaper issue : EDITION

25-across – Yacht leak to be fixed : KEELBOAT

26-across – Way to work on sadly curtailed mission : ALAMO

27-across – Deviant sex in cemetery introducing good ways to escape : EMERGENCYEXITS

1-down – Meal deal might be used by him, if served up with drink shortly beforehand : FISHANDCHIPS

2-down – Sponge John having picked up a bit of fluff : LOOFA

3-down – One who follows somebody on Radio Four, ultimately : SUCCESSOR

4-down – Service breaks in general essentially all together : ENMASSE

5-down – Masculine types work for wimp : MILKSOP

6-down – Commotion in area south of back-to-back houses : HOOHA

7-down – Unreasonable dunce would be this : ABITTHICK

10-down – Through these you can see jockey ride lions — wow! : ORIELWINDOWS

14-down – Current example in New Street covered by press : JETSTREAM

16-down – Get rid of character abroad, caught by international venture being withdrawn : ERADICATE

18-down – Old tax office work finally getting a little tedious : IRKSOME

19-down – One refusing to buy anything : SCEPTIC

22-down – Mathematician once picked up in tanker : OILER

24-down – Starts to interrupt reporter, asking questions in a form of Arabic : IRAQI

9-across – Hard, I say repeatedly, to secure voting for the rabble : HOIPOLLOI

10-across – To show fear, ruler cried out : SHAKE

11-across – It precedes order to make a perfect arrangement : APPLE

12-across – Star hit hard — browned off : SUNTANNED

13-across – Island’s prosperity assured by militant organisation : MADEIRA

14-across – Speed of light and then boom and collapse : CRUMBLE

17-across – A knight stuck in base, feeling very hot : BAKED

19-across – See 11 : PIE

20-across – Narrow promontory around large city in the Balkans : SPLIT

21-across – Block on street possibly encloses new access for passengers : GANGWAY

22-across – Team ban that’s not part of the main article : SIDEBAR

24-across – Newspaper contributor, a stylite perhaps? : COLUMNIST

26-across – Race to move centre of range to its top : DANES

28-across – Hutted village, one crossed over by bird going backwards : KRAAL

29-across – A new local ground grant : ALLOWANCE

1-down – How to move a stop : WHOA

2-down – Relaxed, having one day clear : LIMPID

3-down – Cathedral feature mounted by bereft woman : ROSEWINDOW

4-down – State of a city’s vehicle model : ALASKA

5-down – Crown sticks rebellious clan in wood : PINNACLE

6-down – When one gains independence as a very large area : ASIA

7-down – Of whom it might be said: ‘You are what you eat’ : CANNIBAL

8-down – Hang cage over top of door : PEND

13-down – Crime boss, mob leader, ends up captured by fighter : MRBIG

15-down – By contrast, the benefits associated with feathers turned right over : UPSIDEDOWN

16-down – Gripped by dysentery? Join the competition! : ENTER

18-down – Like gran’s rough play : KINGLEAR

19-down – Ship lay at sea to receive chief’s initial examination : PHYSICAL

22-down – Make a home pay : SETTLE

23-down – Bleat about elderly relative : BANANA

24-down – Maybe Dundee state wants King Edward’s head : CAKE

25-down – Married type’s exploit : MILK

27-down – Called out Grant’s descendants : SEED

1-across – Cooked last of three dishes perhaps lacking third of meat? : SHEPHERDSPIES

10-across – Little-known degree held by Guardian’s head of entertainment : OBSCURE

11-across – Snappier person coming over : CROSSER

12-across – Call up first wife, having received go-ahead : EVOKE

13-across – Left in pieces after contestant finally made a mistake : TRIPPEDUP

14-across – Smarten up pages around margin : PRIMP

16-across – Thought to have left out light meal : REFECTION

18-across – NB regular treatment needed for part of arm : GUNBARREL

19-across – Delayed training in troublesome communications app : SKYPE

20-across – Transport official parking in trendy part of town : INSPECTOR

23-across – Father certainly repelled love goddess : FREYA

24-across – Suffer to keep up : SUSTAIN

25-across – Receding storm in film of the open seas : PELAGIC

26-across – Feign reluctance to give reason for theatre closure? : PLAYHARDTOGET

2-down – Could it be confusing to an Irish student of old? : HISTORIAN

3-down – Feet heard to stop for a while : PAUSE

4-down – Employ pundit, regardless of pressure : EXERT

5-down – Edit clue, first of four condemned as underhand : DECEITFUL

6-down – Views from master with time to go into particulars : PROSPECTS

7-down – Moved cautiously and led on, scratching head : EASED

8-down – Oppose return to university: student on vacation : COMEUPAGAINST

9-down – Majority think again briefly when cutting caper : PREPONDERANCE

15-down – Earth’s level area included in test : PLANETARY

16-down – Imagined country united after one king, then another, beheaded queen : RURITANIA

17-down – Frantic Yale fugitive not fit, sadly, for such a place : IVYLEAGUE

21-down – Fibre’s length unchanged on rotation : SISAL

22-down – Bound work with scarlet cover : ROPED

23-down – Large leaf taken from soil often flipped over : FOLIO