Daily Answers

8-across – Tory Right blocking liberal colleague : CONFRERE

9-across – He’d call regularly, bearing cake : ECLAIR

10-across – Cases of Gewürztraminer, exceptionally pale : GREY

11-across – Destroying terrains of Amazonia, for example : RAINFOREST

12-across – Soppy female and sheepish male : WETHER

14-across – Possibly lacking exercise, topless physique is classically epic : RHAPSODY

15-across – Generators died, rotating such a lot : DYNAMOS

17-across – Fixer full of limitless gas and wind : MEANDER

20-across – Allowed astronomer to leave Earth, with fatal consequences : LETHALLY

22-across – Slick lie yielding students a sneaky day off : SICKIE

23-across – Local store fleeced a policeman, according to Spooner : CORNERSHOP

24-across – Run into revolting boozer and belch : BURP

25-across – Thinner axes bend, we hear : XYLENE

26-across – Idle criminal has siestas : LIEDOWNS

1-down – Boris yet to exercise temperance : SOBRIETY

2-down – Suspect humming head off : IFFY

3-down – Tearaway ultimately at fault : TERROR

4-down – Mischief and deadpan gags having malign influence : DEVILRY

5-down – Identical small females throwing tantrum : SELFSAME

6-down – Cult’s on-air broadcast not heard by us : ULTRASONIC

7-down – Serbia sedulously protecting partisan : BIASED

13-down – Attila upset retired nut gatherer : HEADHUNTER

16-down – Where wise creatures gather, spreading wise lore : OWLERIES

18-down – Settler perhaps restraining road rage : EMIGRANT

19-down – Tree, which reportedly gave girl optimism at last : WYCHELM

21-down – One turned up clutching £25 for Tom Jones? : EPONYM

22-down – Group of musicians adjust private parts : SEPTET

24-down – Brahms and Liszt refusing to defect : BLOT

8-across – Greek character pinned by relatively insignificant monster … : MINOTAUR

9-across – … that character taken around fish : TAUTOG

10-across – It is a question about the old man’s health : HOWS

11-across – See 10 : YOURFATHER

12-across – Expert leaving to enter wine store : BOFFIN

14-across – Maybe helmet’s protecting Irish copper in top operations : HAIRCUTS

15-across – This rock not completely malleable? I allegedly use sand! : OSTRICH

17-across – Most unexpectedly opposing everything offered by bookmaker : AGAINST

20-across – Books : MOTHBALL

22-across – Article in comic is only a rumour : CANARD

23-across – Underground accommodation teacher has to put up with in Scotland : RABBITHOLE

24-across – Labour’s material electorate finally discarded : TOIL

25-across – One who wrote about pilgrim with no heart retreating : BUNYAN

26-across – A rum and I’d be exceptionally cordial : DRAMBUIE

1-down – Severe operatic prince in endless stir : RIGOROUS

2-down – Treatment favouring chums that sounds sexist? : JOBS

3-down – Gulf that vessel floats on : CANYON

4-down – What is to some extent raw, rough, till beaten into shape : WROUGHT

5-down – Agitation no end with affair that is oppressive : STIFLING

6-down – A hit tune, almost because somehow it connects to the listener : EUSTACHIAN

7-down – Fish not deprived of oxygen in stretch of water : SOLENT

13-down – See 2 : FORTHEBOYS

16-down – Firm given top grade, smart and doing well with little effort : COASTING

18-down – Island noise interrupting end of wondrous song : SARDINIA

19-down – See 17 : ALLODDS

21-down – Obscure work — a strange hesitation to avoid it : OPAQUE

22-down – Islander certain to migrate, leaving island behind : CRETAN

24-down – See 6 : TUBE

9-across – Total nonsense from the start in one statement : UTTERANCE

10-across – City giving Hearts a goalkeeper? : HANOI

11-across – Trod carefully with advice to my boss : TIPTOED

12-across – Determined to achieve results from speech, you are being frank : CANDOUR

13-across – Congress in recess — why? : NOOKY

14-across – Statesman right at home in city and country : OKLAHOMAN

16-across – The idea : DEFINITEARTICLE

19-across – Harass Cambridge head in dark blue truck : PERSECUTE

21-across – Paul, Harry and Nick displaying hearts of gold : AURIC

22-across – Nothing left of Neymar? Card following : FANCLUB

23-across – Successful investment in the stock market? : CASHCOW

24-across – Top one with murder conviction finally : CROWN

25-across – Row about drugs backfired for criminal : RACKETEER

1-down – Restrained individual behind leading politicians : BUTTONEDUP

2-down – Breaks journey — road bad after work’s ending in chaos : STOPSOFF

3-down – Ship’s store close to empty : ARGOSY

4-down – Lady turned up naked in exotic shows : ENID

5-down – Nice places abroad where writers gather : PENCILCASE

6-down – Winger listened to talk of success? : WHINCHAT

7-down – Grass is doing well : INFORM

8-down – Train’s turned up? Don’t believe him! : LIAR

14-down – Has more than university books to accommodate — this is one : OUTNUMBERS

15-down – Writer depicted old queen briefly imprisoned after revolution : NOELCOWARD

17-down – Short of Liberal dons? That’s annoying : NEEDLING

18-down – ‘These boats have a wickerwork frame’ — see, they are founts of wisdom : CORACLES

20-down – Chance of money abroad lifted doctor : RANDOM

21-down – Wears scruffy clothing for November comeback : ANSWER

22-down – Rich with a hundred, in truth : FACT

23-down – His mate lays one decrepit redhead off : COCK

7-across – What might get thrown, if pub’s beginning meals with no starter : PUNCHES

8-across – Rubbish setter, perhaps, but one with tenacious spirit : BULLDOG

9-across – Draw? Point for football team, commonly : TOWN

10-across – State of confusion in Salem about first to tour non-European capital : MAELSTROM

12-across – This female’s working as a flying fish catcher : HERON

13-across – Cause to look foolish, if improperly fit and lusty : STULTIFY

15-across – Ring road in Belgium, around its capital : EURO

16-across – Song originally on release when backing Prince? : ROYAL

17-across – Coin about right for one from these shores : BRIT

18-across – PDSA role in treatment for cats : LEOPARDS

20-across – Bloody Mary following dance? No harm in it! : BALLY

21-across – Sloth potentially extremely boring? Wrong! : DEADLYSIN

22-across – Politician after very good solicitor : PIMP

24-across – Beastly European old man replaced by West Indian leader : SWINISH

25-across – Chap taking the strain? He’s a saint : PATRICK

1-down – Novelist with great love for English : HUGO

2-down – Outline result, if arsenic mixed with oxygen : SCENARIO

3-down – Hamburger, say, as part of hunger management? : GERMAN

4-down – Eejit is senseless, but no b***** nutcase? : NUMSKULL

5-down – Bit of broccoli left over after essential part cut off : FLORET

6-down – John and Mark seem ominously close : LOOM

11-down – Lamb, Bacon etc? Try in soups, then stews primarily : ESSAYISTS

12-down – Put up with uniform, initially, when made to wear stockings : HOUSE

14-down – Rather lost out as Puck? : FAIRY

16-down – Move to live in the country where river is in swell : RURALISE

17-down – Approximate Spoonerism of which makes another setter make a beastly noise? : BALLPARK

19-down – Obvious time for a legal statement of grievance : PLAINT

20-down – Talk to writer about rubbish setting? : BINBAG

21-down – Party with odd bits of wine to drink : DOWN

23-down – Nutmeg’s sibling is a symbol of authority in the 12 down : MACE

1-across – Existentialist element of religious art rejected : SARTRE

4-across – Don’t dump on Raleigh, for instance : RECYCLE

9-across – Boozer in loving embrace, failing to shape up : AMORPHOUS

10-across – See 11 : MINDS

11-across – King George put away cares — slight king, just the same? I came to that conclusion too! : GREAT

12-across – Spend until one’s cup overflows? : SPLASHOUT

13-across – Can be expressed as ‘iron-backed yarn’ : EFFABLE

15-across – It’s associated with bridge in tutorial topics : RIALTO

17-across – Bony, very backward duck : OSTEAL

19-across – Palace head linked to Pik Botha’s ultimate collapse : TOPKAPI

22-across – One who considered being a Swiss miss, almost a pro­vocative one? : HEIDEGGER

24-across – See 11 : THINK

26-across – See 11 : ALIKE

27-across – A proposer of a Superman fashioned from zinc sheet : NIETZSCHE

28-across – Wager from old days settled : LAYODDS

29-across – Convenient place for men to spout? : URINAL

1-down – Starting price put on ancient German sequin : SPANGLE

2-down – River, Polish river : RHONE

3-down – Reposition wonky bale to be upright : REPUTABLE

4-down – Thief, one making a noise leafing through papers? : RUSTLER

5-down – He recognised the absurdity of being Conservative with a problem getting up : CAMUS

6-down – Oxygen-enriched form of cast-iron combinations : CONSORTIA

7-down – Fake tears spilled on encount­ering impedance : ERSATZ

8-down – Make a mess of relieving foreign consulate of can : TOUSLE

14-down – Falsely testify against one being recruited for fun and games : FESTIVITY

16-down – Mobile program adding energy to British pop starter : APPETIZER

18-down – Traditional tales of feet that are a joke? : LEGENDS

19-down – Land failure : TURKEY

20-down – Reservoir into which old-fashioned writers would be dipped : INKWELL

21-down – Hector heartlessly held in unbelievable slavery : THRALL

23-down – The Mendips housing fix : EMEND

25-down – Imprisoned in the manner of an ancient people : INCAN