Daily Answers

1-across – Persistent animal gets exercise daily, using leads : DOGGED

5-across – A whale of a book : MOBYDICK

9-across – Lets out, or lets out again : RELEASES

10-across – Fancy a nut? Go for this sweet : NOUGAT

11-across – Little Bo-Peep is cursory, for one? : NURSERYRHYME

13-across – Piece of luggage, one for Sherlock? : CASE

14-across – In the middle, putting very cheap item of jewellery : CENTRING

17-across – Move quickly to secure prison : DARTMOOR

18-across – Matter hard to press forward : PUSH

20-across – Admitted a record holds information : ACKNOWLEDGED

23-across – Two strips of beach : BIKINI

24-across – Stars sit around, no lovers of red revolution : TSARISTS

25-across – Ruin some poor Frenchman : MONSIEUR

26-across – Cut like a baby? : TEETHE

2-down – Old writer is generally accessible : OPEN

3-down – Be gentler when developing this? : GREENBELT

4-down – Want to get rid of Dad? : DESIRE

5-down – Craftsman sadly cremates partner : MASTERCARPENTER

6-down – Discussing informally how to insist on remaining alive : BANDYING

7-down – Money to make; not nice : DOUGH

8-down – Unpleasantly damp feeling of tunnels with shellfish about : CLAMMINESS

12-down – Liqueur seen to spoil a small cloth : MARASCHINO

15-down – Such relentless questioning of machine gun’s capability : RAPIDFIRE

16-down – Nobody accepts a little piece in any colour : NONWHITE

19-down – Horrified as a good speed is cut : AGHAST

21-down – Little spikes: personally, I have 20 : NAILS

22-down – Snag: first horse is missing and must be scratched : ITCH

7-across – To survive on regular contrib­utions, it’s problematic : SUBSIST

8-across – Flies in the face of danger, one party’s leader: that’s final, period : DIPTERA

9-across – Sound of insect or fly : FLEE

10-across – Harvest disease leads to making one unconscious : LAYINGOUT

12-across – The corrupt accept this: to live, cut by ridicule : BRIBE

13-across – Everything under the sun I ever recollected : UNIVERSE

15-across – Mark a clue that does this for golf : BACK

16-across – See 15 : SLASH

17-across – Greens on cycling: ‘That hurts!’ : CHOU

18-across – Boatman involved in terrible ordeal, but winning : ADORABLE

20-across – German poet translating King Lear, removing an entry for Goneril : RILKE

21-across – Some say terrible judge gives mark for changing letters : DIACRITIC

22-across – American poet’s name with no apostrophe S, hyphenated originally : NASH

24-across – You might sling one inverted comma in covers of hardback : HAMMOCK

25-across – Very corrupt senior type : VERSION

1-down – Chubby seal. : FULL

2-down – Star in hurry loses hour by chance : ASTERISK

3-down – Heroine, tragic victim of hubris? Old enough to see through this : ISOLDE

4-down – Might this describe Boatman: finished with work? : FIENDISH

5-down – It might be oblique note to follow Mark, perhaps: ringing endorsement : STROKE

6-down – Substitute neither first nor last at first : ERST

11-down – There’s no end to early morning link-up — whatever you want! : YOUNAMEIT

12-down – Catch drivers’ panel ignoring punctuation : BOARD

14-down – Mark is cross, twice : SCORE

16-down – Find difference at the bottom of writing : SUBTRACT

17-down – Mark is England’s first to settle : COLONISE

19-down – States ‘authentic’ writing : REALMS

20-down – Row of crop marks : RACKET

21-down – Impervious to argument about half of deaths, full stop! : DEAF

23-down – See 1 : STOP

1-across – Painting of couple by river in boat : ARTWORK

5-across – 80% of 3 ÷ 4? In the end, class does well : THRIVES

9-across – Direction, perhaps north, to retreat and run away : ELOPE

10-across – They might be fancy, sleek — can be worn by many? : NECKLACES

11-across – Tasty fruit left out? It’s rotten, one’s no good : APPETISING

12-across – Everybody returns to embrace old woman : LOLA

14-across – Paper transformed by spies into fake review : APPRECIATION

18-across – Science to record way of thinking about 1001 : EPIDEMIOLOGY

21-across – H. Kane’s Spurs teammate gives up his soul to be an artist : DALI

22-across – For one number following 1 + 5 + 0 + 4? Complicated : INFAVOUROF

25-across – Forgotten nationalist voted in to overthrow government : NEGLECTED

26-across – Guide cattle … : STEER

27-across – … back to pursue quiet ways : STREETS

28-across – Company function recalled by wild yeti : SOCIETY

1-down – Pea soup carried by hand to primitive human : APEMAN

2-down – Soldiers take up cricket, say, to catch ball : TROOPS

3-down – Writer’s captivated by Depp, too — made up like a tart? : OPENTOPPED

4-down – Royal family takes the lead and finally admits flaws : KINKS

5-down – Let China clay initially be moulded by expert : TECHNICAL

6-down – Count on getting extremely lucky : RELY

7-down – Queen’s champion upset artificial intelligence : VICTORIA

8-down – Feed small bears : SUSTAINS

13-down – Fear overwhelms German defeat, taking a very optimistic view : PANGLOSSIC

15-down – Reading, then seeing it translated by Kindles again : REIGNITES

16-down – Inside, theologians each study blind alleys : DEADENDS

17-down – One in Hamlet has beer after 6:50 : VILLAGER

19-down – New English author : GREENE

20-down – Americans imprison very loud Republican leading Yankee riot : AFFRAY

23-down – Assistants like eating fish : AIDES

24-down – Just about setter on top : MERE

9-across – Statue, for example, friend of 26 across returned : IMAGE

10-across – Tours in France, say — plane came with parts around middle switched : PLACENAME

11-across – Some travel guides in his language for philosopher : DESCARTES

12-across – Savoir faire includes the writer being understood : TACIT

13-across – Express statements of resistance in French and English : NONSTOP

15-across – Caught bringing in line put out : NETTLED

17-across – See 5 : DETRE

18-across – See 24 : SUM

20-across – See 8 : LAVIE

22-across – Has turned over pages, one chapter relating to poetess : SAPPHIC

25-across – Author understands what 7 had in 1 : PENSEES

26-across – Eg including this artist is superficially damaging : RODIN

27-across – Source of information that bears fruit : GRAPEVINE

30-across – One of those points of great danger heroic Frenchman’s between : EPICENTRE

31-across – Dance club we left, returning after band’s performance : GIGUE

1-down – Pay attention to theme of this puzzle : MIND

2-down – Composer and artist traversing the way from Paris to Marseilles : MASSENET

3-down – Centre half in home game is fab : MEGA

4-down – Grave statements, perhaps wrong : EPITAPHS

5-down – Reformulation of René’s adroit justification for existence : RAISON

6-down – Blight on the plant? This needs fencing : PENTATHLON

7-down – Mathematician contributing to group as calculator : PASCAL

8-down – How 7, 11 or 26 across might have announced his resignation? : CEST

13-down – Uncovered figures like 14 in hundreds — every second : NUDES

14-down – Heartless old Tory interrupting man who repairs sculpture : THETHINKER

16-down – Drives without a third and second gear : DRESS

19-down – Graphic artist who often shows latitude at work? : MAPMAKER

21-down – Compete over parts in theatre — one gets them in shows : VIEWINGS

23-down – Kind of speech I had given shortly after power drink : PIDGIN

24-down – 5 17 for 11? : COGITO

26-down – Part of friendship that meant nothing to 7, 11, or 26 : RIEN

28-down – See 24 : ERGO

29-down – Weapon European repeatedly used, seizing power : EPEE

8-across – 12, where two crossings on carpets reversed : STAMFORD

9-across – 12 Paul owned on film : ETIHAD

10-across – Crew member pocketing a charm : COAX

11-across – Back socialist after U-turn, right-wing politician being offensive : DEROGATORY

12-across – Dirt, GO? : GROUND

14-across – Dark coloured head and forehead on knight : NUTBROWN

15-across – Stop cutting curly hair daily : PERDIEM

17-across – Unknown number visiting away 12 : ANFIELD

20-across – Bit stuck in lift that hasn’t open­ed, one giving the illusion of movement? : OPARTIST

22-across – Splash out on Midlands 12 : LONDON

23-across – Nasty look securing newspaper worker for Punch : LEFTHANDER

24-across – Valley area underneath emptied into rivers : RUHR

25-across – See 8 : BRIDGE

26-across – Happy taking flight in one’s mind? : UPSTAIRS

1-down – Bully races out where it all kicks off? : ATSOURCE

2-down – 12 swapping halves in test? : AMEX

3-down – Despicable type almost finished : SORDID

4-down – Trouble over sphincter, tender : ADORING

5-down – Raise cube enclosed by layer : HEIGHTEN

6-down – Brother I see sent up after relative losing head in prison : CISTERCIAN

7-down – 12 in a word shifting under root vegetable, briefly : CARROW

13-down – Substitute player knocked unconscious, part of boot on youngster’s head : UNDERSTUDY

16-down – 12: 12 that is with stream : EMIRATES

18-down – Lovely tune, ultimately inspiring start of hymn — listen! : LOOKHERE

19-down – See 22 across : STADIUM

21-down – Motion’s art form — might that be in him? : POETRY

22-down – Table includes boundaries from your old player : LYRIST

24-down – See 7 : ROAD