Daily Answers

9-across – Wildfowlers besiege a French plant : SUNFLOWER

10-across – Heron, say, on top of tree : EGRET

11-across – One cold diver turns over chunk of glacier : ICEBERG

12-across – Feature in garden party with superb sandwiches : DOGWOOD

13-across – Whitish yellow growth that climbs walls : IVORY

14-across – Plant English or Greek character in plot : BEEORCHID

16-across – TV documentary strand animating a rather dull town : THENATURALWORLD

19-across – A Dubliner’s about to take in dress for tiny bodies : ANAEROBES

21-across – Briefly recognise lakes and hillock : KNOLL

22-across – Problem in 8 for possibly blocking sound of 25? : HOOFROT

23-across – Crew unknown yacht that’s docked in Douglas? : MANXCAT

24-across – Hard woman rejected cosmetic : HENNA

25-across – It flies Times into oil well at sea : LITTLEOWL

1-down – Wasp I distracted circling plant : ASPIDISTRA

2-down – They progress in leaps and bounds before eating cane up : ANTELOPE

3-down – Small miner strips vertical end of quarry : SLEEPY

4-down – Grasp front of tartan rug : TWIG

5-down – What ass does to curb lazy women’s rides : BRIDLEWAYS

6-down – How to shelter border road initially? This’ll do it : HEDGEROW

7-down – Clasp ring found in ancient tower : BROOCH

8-down – Union probing phone system’s boss : STUD

14-down – Fly low with daring : BLUEBOTTLE

15-down – Vet books inspired by excited toddler : DRDOLITTLE

17-down – A Greek heretic dealing with land : AGRARIAN

18-down – Councillor’s wearing jumper and vest for Swedes, maybe : ROOTCROP

20-down – Nuts like tackling digital problem : ACORNS

21-down – Stimulate class left without paper : KINDLE

22-down – Ditch one hectare after another : HAHA

23-down – Flyer’s second article abridged : MOTH

1-across – Fine under hat, one invisible : SUBTLE

4-across – Brand magistrate crooked after waiving of charge : STIGMA

9-across – See 19 : FEED

10-across – Birdsong, perhaps, in worst dungeon, by the sound of it? : BESTSELLER

11-across – German slimmer : DIETER

12-across – US politician in priest turned rotten : INEDIBLE

13-across – Champ leaves hirsute character : CHEWBACCA

15-across – Those contraptions would judder as he worked aboard loco : BONE

16-across – One enjoying a drink eats nuts in season : WINE

17-across – Dimmer student finally admitted to county town after pretty low grade : DIPSWITCH

21-across – Numbers coming up, split spoils including deposit : PLAYLIST

22-across – Foreign helper in middle of room, might you say? : AUPAIR

24-across – Measure girl, OK after reviewing contrary novel : KILOGRAMME

25-across – Book search in Birmingham? : LUKE

26-across – Work out the other royal title : SUSSEX

27-across – Behind schoolmaster, necking drinks : ASTERN

1-down – European vegetable’s ending in Cornish pasty, possibly? : SWEDISH

2-down – Tool securing unloaded device behind washer : BIDET

3-down – Country in deceit more fuelled by alcohol, reportedly? : LIBERIA

5-down – See 16 across : TASTER

6-down – Medicine served up in prison, one in disastrous campaign : GALLIPOLI

7-down – Round rings, circle left in region on base of nipple : AREOLAE

8-down – What man in essence and woman in effect both have proverbially to solve the problem immediately? : ASTITCHINTIME

14-down – Result of pat on baby’s back, turn remarkably soppy : WINDYPOPS

16-down – Cryptic was like exercise for setter, say? : WALKIES

18-down – See 15 : SHAKERS

19-down – Small potatoes or peanuts, nibbles for hen party? : CHICKEN

20-down – Enter king, say, carrying head of Republican : PIERCE

23-down – Seed perhaps mine, though not a tree, ultimately : PULSE

1-across – Young Bengal tigers skirting lake? They’re used to exercise : INDIANCLUBS

9-across – The hardest thing before match — it’s achieved years later : DIAMOND

10-across – See 9 : WEDDING

11-across – Large-scale course briefly a focus for seismologist : EPICENTRE

12-across – Continental banker, extremely rich individual : RHONE

13-across – Flipping insect bite! : TANG

14-across – Declared start of amnesty during forecast : PREDICATED

16-across – Singles-only holiday? : ONEWAYTRIP

19-across – Unladen long-range spaceships taking off : LESS

21-across – Mammal : CAMEL

22-across – Hardy female graduates framing article about mum : BATHSHEBA

24-across – Parisian who joins the marines aboard feels awkward : SQUIRMS

25-across – One’s played two blues oddly rejected by British university : UKULELE

26-across – Pass card to successor, swearing? : HANDONHEART

1-down – Lastly, shake anti-viral fluid before opening it : ITALIANVERMOUTH

2-down – Queen’s mate cheated, taking queen in : DRONE

3-down – Examiner’s car upset bull : AUDITOR

4-down – Chicken he brought in for a farmhand : COWHERD

5-down – Play with reserve, in accordance with law : UNDERACT

6-down – 21 run off in pursuit of junk shop thief : SHIPOFTHEDESERT

7-down – Commercial dressings primarily frustrate nurses : ADVERT

8-down – A European king’s missing daughter’s OK : AGREED

15-down – Aged Scots in hag’s bottomless cooking pot? : CAULDRON

16-down – General charges with sergeant perhaps to stop army heading off : ONCOST

17-down – Hot sauce, like cold, served in fancy boat : TABASCO

18-down – Where Naomi’s tale’s told — about time, really : INTRUTH

20-down – Bill’s rushed round, forcibly removed from ground? : SPADED

23-down – Adult in blazer needing a bath : SAUNA

9-across – 1 + 50 + 1 = 1? : ALONE

10-across – Around 4, take out the person responsible : EXECUTIVE

11-across – Unhappy about eating hot sauce, company leaves European record stores : DATABASES

12-across – Orders strong cheese to start with : BRIEF

13-across – Leader’s fitting in the third person : CAPTAIN

15-across – Put back in forest or earth : RESTORE

17-across – John who lives in a Cambridgeshire village : ELTON

18-across – Short boy skipped half of class : LES

20-across – Around Reading, one’s selling fish : TROUT

22-across – Excited to be in expensive car with cigarettes : ROLLUPS

25-across – Cracked porcelain? No, no, it’s a copy : REPLICA

26-across – Amazing soldier enters river doing a backflip : MAGIC

27-across – Carbon, hydrogen and metals: I turn them into gold : ALCHEMIST

30-across – Mocking learner after Day One — car breaks down around lunchtime : SATIRICAL

31-across – Queen wears hat regularly for courage : HEART

1-down – Outlaw finally joined gang : BAND

2-down – Weakness for very loud ties, at first turning heads : SOFTSPOT

3-down – Partner following him? A plant : HERB

4-down – For each issue, one pound for an ad : PERSONAL

5-down – They say London bloke often spouts a lot of hot air : GEYSER

6-down – British pub rebuilt as junkyard : RUBBISHTIP

7-down – Adult 1 — child 0 in martial art : AIKIDO

8-down – Dispute amount to pay Britain in recession : BEEF

13-down – King Charles initially leads without difficulty : CLEAR

14-down – New nurse cannot take temperature for newsreaders : ANNOUNCERS

16-down – Old method to lift up more : EXTRA

19-down – Zappa’s commercial album? Absolutely : STRICTLY

21-down – Nothing in a girl’s novel is creative : ORIGINAL

23-down – From beginning to end, cut crossword solutions : LIGHTS

24-down – It’s uncommon for society to worry about carbon : SCARCE

26-down – Bond’s boss to query disguise : MASK

28-down – Response from online church — ‘love’ : ECHO

29-down – Shabby articles by English gallery : TATE

1-across – Legend, very generous sort, Mrs Thatcher — as if! : FATHER

5-across – One’s appeal right for inspiring artist : PISSARRO

9-across – 12 flipping thick, Lewis Hamilton now said : MIDNIGHT

10-across – Not totally wanton, I’m saying about woman : YASMIN

11-across – Initially nervous: when turning to drink, gains a little extra confidence : SANGUINENESS

13-across – Shock for a criminal : AFRO

14-across – Idiot’s taken in twice about countryman : MOROCCAN

17-across – Canister could be smaller : SCANTIER

18-across – Was sorry about making vulgar sound : RUED

20-across – Bar staff finally on site dressed as pirates : COUNTERFEITS

23-across – Lawyer with German’s money getting in bother : DAMMIT

24-across – One being spiteful about letter going too far : ABITMUCH

25-across – Associates with right-wing types : CONSORTS

26-across – Close to rock, gets to swim with a seal : GASKET

2-down – Insatiable drama queen stood up : AVID

3-down – Easily passes with professor coming round : HANDSDOWN

4-down – Queen’s in study endlessly drinking alcohol : REGINA

5-down – Increasingly disconcerted by standards in war novel : PUTOUTMOREFLAGS

6-down – Declare — Lara heading off after leg bye : SAYONARA

7-down – Wrongly firing Minister without Portfolio at first : ARSON

8-down – Brings back some method of control over Washington? : REINSTATES

12-down – An oaf at first implying Covid not very problematic — nut! : AFICIONADO

15-down – See 1 : CHRISTMAS

16-down – Awful rubbish! Charlie upset person calling the shots : DIRECTOR

19-down – Weakness with fellow off sick : AILING

21-down – Labels men as fickle : NAMES

22-down – After not much revision, came top : ACME