Daily Answers

9-across – Houdini act — legend that will clear 22 down in 10 : ESCAPEKEY

10-across – Sounds like very big is better? : EXCEL

11-across – See 12 : TORTURE

12-across – Houdini’s act two recurrence — lethal ties loosened : CHINESE

13-across – Stop! Time to get out without wearing straps : REINS

14-across – Spot journalist and paper giving false hope : PIPEDREAM

16-across – Simple Harry Houdini act with steps : UNSOPHISTICATED

19-across – Irregular pressure: expression of surprise in danger : HAPHAZARD

21-across – See 12 : WATER

22-across – Reached top of cold water with arms at side : CLIMBED

23-across – A long time after dropping cage : DUNGEON

24-across – Fat conjuror ultimately saws woman in half : LARDY

25-across – They let out zebras regularly to chase on fields : RELEASERS

1-down – Clear to detect the lies : SEETHROUGH

2-down – Scrambles signal, primarily reaching foreign dishes : SCURRIES

3-down – Rabbits run out of veg : SPOUTS

4-down – Air final part of Love Island : SKYE

5-down – NYPD case to get resolved having been shortened : SYNCOPATED

6-down – Regular exercise — shaving seconds off an Olympic record? : PERIODIC

7-down – First couple from Scotland seen on border with English map : SCHEME

8-down – Tone down adult clues for this? : BLUE

14-down – Plays around with free 20 hand : PHILANDERS

15-down – Mrs needs no foreign currency : MODERNNESS

17-down – Pleasure-seekers find love in parking spaces by the roadside : PLAYBOYS

18-down – Tied: one’s left in that place locked up? : TETHERED

20-down – Stud could come out with these stories about royal? Prince goes first : PLIERS

21-down – Feature of magazine article with small piece making cover : WANTAD

22-down – See 12 : CELL

23-down – Artist buried alive, partially : DALI

1-across – Hobo managed fun runs in a piece of Somerset? : OFHUMAN

5-across – See 1 : BONDAGE

9-across – Large lady’s eating last of cake, a little down : FEATHER

10-across – Crook runs through life energetically : CONBRIO

11-across – Navy tour in it at sea? Goodness! : NUTRITION

12-across – Flipping East End pastime includes nothing rough : YOBBO

13-across – Channel as start for sail across the Atlantic : SINUS

15-across – Said what VIP spotter will do is fine in the main : SEAWORTHY

17-across – Aristotle tinkered with system for the better : TOTALISER

19-across – Bill ducks a subject to be ducked : TABOO

22-across – Voiced disgust in music hall : ODEUM

23-across – Mastiff’s tail wags around great group in pack : FACECARDS

25-across – It helps to see nurse with eccentric clothing : LORGNON

26-across – To the west, a cool and a green Pacific region : OCEANIA

27-across – Great aid agreed, keeping Arab land waiting : YEOMANS

28-across – See 27 : SERVICE

1-down – How to get food from a waiter out to lunch? : OFFONES

2-down – Try, after tax rises, to cheer : HEARTEN

3-down – Papers theatrically exaggerate revolutionary Muslim leader : MAHDI

4-down – Stood up cold topless Dutch egotist : NARCISSUS

5-down – Painter’s reason to take the bus back? : BACON

6-down – One tending to brood and attack animal : NANNYGOAT

7-down – A European gets stuffed by British athlete : ACROBAT

8-down – Way of saving face, so only come in disguise : ECONOMY

14-down – Chap sadly back around houses in Spanish city : SALAMANCA

16-down – Bad debts covered by firm; investor finally cheers up : ATROCIOUS

17-down – See 1 : TROLLEY

18-down – Instrument or article with two round objects : THEORBO

20-down – Make a career in China, India or another country : BURUNDI

21-down – See 8 : OFSCALE

23-down – Second home providing returns in the end : FINIS

24-down – Pull in outside of Lille, stopping vehicle : CLEAR

1-across – Holding fast, he deployed cunning : SLEIGHTOFHAND

10-across – Teach form cooking, domestic science : HOMECRAFT

11-across – One has to be introduced to good king’s benefactor : GIVER

12-across – Milksop associate of gangster ‘Y’? : MOLLY

13-across – Southern plonk promotion: ‘It ignites!’ : SPARKPLUG

14-across – Vigilant Busby’s situation? : ONGUARD

16-across – Defector’s case dismissed — exercise privilege, ultimately : ESCAPEE

18-across – Lands in protest at establishment : ESTATES

20-across – Acorns provided by strong breed of dog? : MASTIFF

21-across – Rower is on potty — nothing to be alarmed about : NOWORRIES

23-across – Involved in pricing product of castor oil seeds : RICIN

24-across – Sense drunk needs a fresh start : SIGHT

25-across – Just some toffees? I’m pleading absolute property ownership! : FEESIMPLE

26-across – Bone cleaner’s handy weapon : KNUCKLEDUSTER

2-down – Fruit fair’s conspicuous position : LIMELIGHT

3-down – Mean to get rid of book, being irritable : ITCHY

4-down – Given the ultimate drive, tries reaching England’s borders : HEARSED

5-down – Wrath of king during spell without power : OUTRAGE

6-down – Secondary school gives up dance moves : HIGHKICKS

7-down – Against getting into Yuletide romance? : NOVEL

8-down – Digitally connect with Bill in America and show contempt? : THUMBONESNOSE

9-down – Gunslinger would have this tense boatyard worker provided with a measure of alcohol : TRIGGERFINGER

15-down – Insect on cacti circling round, right where it’s very cold : ANTARCTIC

17-down – Canon’s in clipper at sea : PRINCIPLE

19-down – Hull flu invalid gets a lot of booze : SKINFUL

20-down – Wrongly interpret popular writer’s pen-name, omitting ‘s’ : MISREAD

22-down – Not taking drink on this : WAGON

23-down – Mars journeys must include one : RUINS

4-across – Flag-carrying soldier resolved to clear surgeon : COLOUR

6-across – See 4 : SERGEANT

9-across – Illicit affairs of spymaster running major industry : MONKEY

10-across – See 9 : BUSINESS

11-across – Rant and rave, as sacked gardener might? : LOSETHEPLOT

15-across – Grim time that husband’s taken into consideration : THOUGHT

17-across – Four breaking oath joined up : CURSIVE

18-across – Fresh source of water first for annual purification? : SPRINGCLEAN

22-across – Preposterous list often added to with conviction? : CRIMINAL

23-across – See 22 : RECORD

24-across – Long-haul workers from Manchester somehow getting the last word : MERCHANT

25-across – See 24 : SEAMEN

1-down – Bright rising copper’s temporarily given housing : LUCENT

2-down – Local runner joining army unit is no monarchist : REPUBLICAN

3-down – A good outcome to queen’s labour? Brilliant! : AGLITTER

4-down – Struggle across line to finish : COMPLETE

5-down – Outsider is dying, feverish : LONGSHOT

7-down – Plotters regularly use such weapons : AXES

8-down – Only the odd contrary characters suss out pitch : TOSS

12-down – Name adopted by setter in a novel proves amusing : ENTERTAINS

13-down – Naturalist may study this 22 23 at end of a sentence : LIFEFORM

14-down – Checked what monarch did, abandoning grand home : REINEDIN

16-down – Greenery, at first a modest innovation in late Georgian streets : GASLIGHT

19-down – Pronounced ‘basic’, as ship will be before sailing : CREWED

20-down – Riff-raff making unpleasant film : SCUM

21-down – Storyteller’s rung up : LIAR

1-across – Strongly anger unionists, being enthusiastic : FIREDUP

5-across – Not quite have time to cover puzzles, essentially reversing instruction : MITZVAH

9-across – See 6 : DUCTS

10-across – Exceptional grant and a fourth armed man? : DARTAGNAN

11-across – Humanitarian organisation’s driver possibly going round in circles : ROTARYCLUB

12-across – Fortitude may be needed in readiness for real snow and ice : TRUE

14-across – Is Monet misrepresented in tiny but fundamental matter? : QUESTIONMARK

18-across – Merrymaking composer pens the ultimate in music, reject­ing secure articles : BACCHANALIAN

21-across – Redeem myself, partly to get an award : EMMY

22-across – Consider purposeful shop reprimand : DELIBERATE

25-across – Desolate nature’s in evolution : SATURNINE

26-across – Bothered bit by bit, as they say : FAZED

27-across – Parker cooked hot fish outside : DOROTHY

28-across – About marriage, when it turns belligerent : MARTIAL

1-down – Iron rod upon a hat : FEDORA

2-down – Brief script, yet evenly read : RECITE

3-down – First in cold blast to become agitated : DISTRAUGHT

4-down – What could make Cupid easily embarrassed : PUDIC

5-down – In a kind of miracle, they say you are fickle : MERCURIAL

6-down – One left rusticated arrangement of flowers in grief : TEAR

7-down – May be even true of sex : VENEREAL

8-down – Write down curse for Spooner’s nags : HENPECKS

13-down – Unattended vehicle’s broken into in Paris: a damaged Ford : UNCAREDFOR

15-down – From the time of Rome, it took years to start with honesty : SINCERITY

16-down – Snob houses closed, only half occupied : OBSESSED

17-down – Weapon of racism : SCIMITAR

19-down – Long live the Emperor of Zanzibar, unclothed and dancing : BANZAI

20-down – Part of Venezuela due for uprising, like most of Europe once : FEUDAL

23-down – Brought up breakfast cereal, bypassing the beginning of stomach and small intestine : ILEUM

24-down – See 12 : GRIT