Daily Answers

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

7-across – I’m fed up with the wet country : BAHRAIN

8-across – American drink in French house : BOURBON

9-across – Spooner’s man with a beard in prayer? : HAIL

10-across – Gone to collect windcheater, finally given a coat : VARNISHED

12-across – Notice rifle shot : FLIER

13-across – Pay people running competition? : FOOTRACE

15-across – Range one voluntarily holds back : OVEN

16-across – A tree drops on author : ADAMS

17-across – See 5 : DENT

18-across – Taken before lunch, stuff including black seafood : CRABMEAT

20-across – Creation of 16 across in shade of tree? : HAZEL

21-across – Measure of cycles is very painful, reportedly? : MEGAHERTZ

22-across – Bloke having lemon sole in the end : DUDE

24-across – Space vacated after journey including a trek : TRAIPSE

25-across – See 6 : PREFECT

1-down – Spanish drink — it’s okay for the French : CAVA

2-down – Singin’ about a creation of 16 across : TRILLIAN

3-down – Creation of 16 across, money : SILVER

4-down – Make bombs to defend old game : DOMINOES

5-down – A day daughter enters payment for creation of 16 across : ARTHUR

6-down – Creation of 16 across, cross monitor : FORD

11-down – Telescope on, characteristic rings appear, ultimately : REFRACTOR

12-down – Creation of 16 across, money : FIVER

14-down – Note obsessive passage : CANAL

16-down – Purple: the mast after rigging containing hint of yellow : AMETHYST

17-down – Almost twelve taking lift became unconscious : DOZEDOFF

19-down – Creation of 16 across, head honcho : BIGWIG

20-down – Risk a couple of sharp bends, challenging corners : HAZARD

21-down – See 9 : MARY

23-down – Avoid cricketing failure : DUCK

1-across – Saw fewer people in business : LIMITEDCOMPANY

9-across – Pilot participating in raid and a rescue : DANDARE

10-across – Refuse cold chop sent back for demanding chap : EXACTOR

11-across – Something hot? The opposite when picked up : CHILI

12-across – Love a portion sliced by cook : ADORATION

13-across – Denies president’s hosting new billionaire : ABNEGATES

14-across – Tory grandee’s hot with fever : HAGUE

15-across – Bear first sign of tailspin : TEDDY

17-across – Passage of a good king, dressed with flourish : PARAGRAPH

20-across – Ponders brief massage — setter’s back and bum! : RUMINATES

22-across – Head of patriotic state who puts out flags : PAVER

23-across – English prompt to store wood in rural work : ECLOGUE

24-across – Experience high oil supply from this city? : TRIPOLI

25-across – Thug about to stop washing pants : HEAVYBREATHING

1-down – Boy and unknown person talking on line, a seeker of romance : LADYCHATTERLEY

2-down – Two males welcoming one making a pile : MANSION

3-down – Drink alone in a provocative way : TEASINGLY

4-down – Moulded terse version of Caesar’s Rubicon speech? : DIECAST

5-down – Weighty responsibility saving deposit up : ONEROUS

6-down – Red paper out of very fashionable company : PRADA

7-down – Love alcoholic drink that’s kept diluted : NOTHING

8-down – Dreamboat preparing to hug dissolute chancer : PRINCECHARMING

14-down – Gyrating hip, thong covering one’s best part? : HIGHPOINT

16-down – Demi Moore’s outside with grand French film-maker : DEMILLE

17-down – Maybe Rosemary’s Baby’s opening after fuss : POTHERB

18-down – Dry wine European bottles getting badge of honour : ROSETTE

19-down – Where air’s kept awfully volatile after temperature drops : ALVEOLI

21-down – Edible plants raised by Nile’s banks in arid area : NEGEV

1-across – Order, say, two lots of aluminium with cheap bit thrown in : ALPHABETICAL

8-across – Carried by sea westwards, third of team’s missing coats : ENROBES

9-across – Abandoned South American stopped ringing : DISUSED

11-across – Trendy soldier’s over visiting, notes swinger outside bar : INNSIGN

12-across – When swimming, plaice swallow gallons of ocean : PELAGIC

13-across – Work hard to acquire some essentially sexy allure : OOMPH

14-across – Queen once has European hat back to front in part of UK : NEFERTITI

16-across – Storyteller regularly read books in heart of Paris : RACONTEUR

19-across – Children hand in tin : SPAWN

21-across – Our neighbour’s front replaced with first of painted struts : PRANCES

23-across – A short distance divides Greek and Arab school : GRAMMAR

24-across – Distance covered reversing, say, a cart : YARDAGE

25-across – Pen round old popular invention : COINAGE

26-across – Cynic with dope and ale disrupted source of dope : ENCYCLOPEDIA

1-down – A chum married Nimby, for one : ACRONYM

2-down – Issue one pound raised in merchandise : PUBLISH

3-down – Dimwit previously stole ‘A New Feature of Poetry’ : ASSONANCE

4-down – Turn out to be the last to join in eastern party : ENDUP

5-down – Remote city in ruins rebuilt : INSULAR

6-down – African leader is circling a long time, twirling his weapon : ASSEGAI

7-down – English team in large firm chart last of May and Johnson’s work : LEXICOGRAPHY

10-down – Some stars support speech, the result of 7 : DICTIONARIES

15-down – American wears fake top and army headgear : FORAGECAP

17-down – Series covering last British king’s mortification : CHAGRIN

18-down – Workers collect delicious drink from this battered crate in city : NECTARY

19-down – Flier, black one, blocks main road : SEABIRD

20-down – Motorists in Malta spoiled former capital : ALMAATA

22-down – Period working out in southern lakes : SPELL