Daily Answers

7-across – Drive home with knickers virtually unrestrained : RAMPANT

8-across – Rating indignation as a symbolic thing? : SALTIRE

9-across – Element of organ infection and reduced energy associated with smoker : FLUE

10-across – Author includes ‘Mountain King’ as a perfume ingredient : AMBERGRIS

12-across – Mark ordered to secure grand opening : BADGE

13-across – Shady stationer nursing bad back : SINISTER

15-across – Enemy broadcast ‘fake’! : FAUX

16-across – Port Washington’s outskirts flooded by river : TAWNY

17-across – Many lands : BAGS

18-across – Indications of office sin: gin-swilling one on one : INSIGNIA

20-across – Shows competence when dropping first black : SABLE

21-across – Cash substitute, if Kent got hit : GIFTTOKEN

22-across – See 9 : PIPE

24-across – It’s fabulous producing old-hat student humour? : UNICORN

25-across – Old Red Belly performing without bass : ELDERLY

1-down – Mall forerunner’s become tiresome : PALL

2-down – It follows it might have to be taken out : APPENDIX

3-down – Dodgy sun-baked starter removed from eatery : UNSAFE

4-down – Bond’s suspicious about Bellow : WARRANTY

5-down – States true version up front: ‘It was one’s first abode’ : UTERUS

6-down – Gets more friendly with expelled members : ARMS

11-down – Turn on US president : BUSHWHACK

12-down – Health food to eat with bulk : BRAWN

14-down – Bird book released by bailiff : EAGLE

16-down – Metal cruet cast a slight shade : TINCTURE

17-down – Live! Hit performer’s jazz instrumentalist : BEBOPPER

19-down – Corrupt data etc repaired : INFECT

20-down – Record run : SINGLE

21-down – Working to get rid of one part of the percussion section? : GONG

23-down – A lot of money that’s forced into the ground : PILE

8-across – Cigarette covering to break away : SPLITOFF

9-across – Come from a stream back-to-front : ARRIVE

10-across – About to get tax break : RECESS

11-across – Seizing queen with kiss, her partner loses face : ANNEXING

12-across – Female characters in the United Nations : EDNA

13-across – Flying in Hackney’s hair-raising? : AIRLIFTING

15-across – Twirling arms and moving leg to show affection : SNUGGLE

16-across – Inauspicious literary work by Bill : ADVERSE

18-across – Biblical event which is thought to be true : ASSUMPTION

19-across – On which to sit, or stand nearly upright : REAR

20-across – Soldier’s bound to store paper in present place : GIFTSHOP

22-across – DIY nut working without order : UNTIDY

23-across – Smelly plant leaves large on a fungus : AGARIC

24-across – Beginning to solicit, these people pick up farm workers : SHEARERS

1-down – Spear thrown over rocks to try new activities : SPREADONESWINGS

2-down – Vigorously approve of crooks kidnapping French drunk : LIKEGANGBUSTERS

3-down – Rubbish records about love by Wham! : CODSWALLOP

4-down – Flings with a couple of fellows affected behaviour : AFFAIRS

5-down – Women clad in cooler colour : FAWN

6-down – Politician Brits execrate violently online : BREXITSECRETARY

7-down – Paper that’s still popular and good quality : EVENINGSTANDARD

14-down – Agreements to work wearing prostheses : INDENTURES

17-down – Feeble desire to capture little monkey : WIMPISH

21-down – A white pawn : HOCK

9-across – Louvre — bad design, or the French way? : BOULEVARD

10-across – Sound of car 8 : AUDIO

11-across – It’s said cool cat doesn’t exist : PHANTOM

12-across – Opening hole on first round provided water — that’s hard : ORIFICE

13-across – Work? Time for work : OPERA

14-across – One who sings Bach, or is terrific indoors : CHORISTER

16-across – Unusually minor actor playing laird with irony : EXTRAORDINARILY

19-across – Sailor bitten by little rays : STARLIGHT

21-across – Smooth at first and the others are bristly : SETAL

22-across – Old newspapers, say : EXPRESS

23-across – Party time holding balloon in both hands? Check : CONTROL

24-across – Like Conservative to overturn place for meetings : ASCOT

25-across – Players react badly with opponents on board : ACTRESSES

1-down – Cardinal-bishop, university professor and nurses supply drugs : IBUPROFENS

2-down – Legal broker’s underwater spy? : SUBAGENT

3-down – Big German gun beginning to blast earth to pieces : BERTHA

4-down – Friend gets married … to a tree? : PALM

5-down – Philosopher lies to God, I suspect : IDEOLOGIST

6-down – Herb I can mostly see in church : BASILICA

7-down – They can’t stop Dad dancing, not even in city : ADDICT

8-down – 50 + 0 + 5/2 = 0? : LOVE

14-down – King’s vehicle: large, grand, posh, fast model : CARLGUSTAF

15-down – Best hand in the throne room? : ROYALFLUSH

17-down – Male’s nit problem causes complaints : AILMENTS

18-down – Pursuit of profit : INTEREST

20-down – Appearance of muscle, in a way : ASPECT

21-down – Students upset group, at the end of the day : SUNSET

22-down – Revolting boy takes English test : EXAM

23-down – Fans of whips? : CATS

9-across – Lots of stories? Maybe Burgess keeps record, releasing any number : ANTHOLOGY

10-across – A mother’s one who wrote animal tales : ADAMS

11-across – American author being without power to engage me : EMERSON

12-across – Little child in stories making understatement : LITOTES

13-across – Haggard writer who is on a journey? : RIDER

14-across – Two groups of stars putting out ace literary collections : LIBRARIES

16-across – Mother’s boy is lad turning into an Oxford man of books : SIRTHOMASBODLEY

19-across – Authors rested with girl, having crossed street : SATIRISTS

21-across – Book from those academics : HOSEA

22-across – American author presents fat emperor coming to premature end : LARDNER

23-across – Books taking a time to get fantastic sales : ATLASES

24-across – SF author in small city : WELLS

25-across – French author turning green, zeal destroyed — nothing penned : EMILEZOLA

1-down – Ambitious professionals air secrets freely : CAREERISTS

2-down – A carer said to be one who listens : ATTENDER

3-down – Cat, one in the doctor’s surgery? : MOUSER

4-down – Firm concerned with making money : COIN

5-down – Friend’s travelling north, needing public transport schedules : SYLLABUSES

6-down – Capital city worker, one in the past undermining society : SANTIAGO

7-down – Viewers’ angles taken on board by American thinkers : CANTHI

8-down – Goddess is number one female : ISIS

14-down – Males arise to be trained for Buddhist institutions : LAMASERIES

15-down – Shaky alarms repaired without a high-level security officer : SKYMARSHAL

17-down – Difficulty of driver initially getting into gear : HARDNESS

18-down – Keeps going, getting to peak as the final destination : LASTSTOP

20-down – Loveless Germanic god has everyone in bondage : THRALL

21-down – Endless inferno encountered in protective headgear : HELMET

22-down – Grass as a rule needing nitrogen : LAWN

23-down – Not much attire, going topless : ABIT

1-across – British introduced to articles from Greece, perhaps : THEBAN

5-across – Getting to be charming and proper : BECOMING

9-across – Recall snigger, laughing ultimately about a bird : GREATTIT

10-across – Far from developed pond dweller I own, by the sound of it? : MINUTE

11-across – Time to reflect on depraved premier in Washington being irresponsible : DEVILMAYCARE

13-across – Colonnade attaches to Athenian houses : STOA

14-across – Directive almost involving Reagan trimmed down the big guns : ORDNANCE

17-across – Drug reduced, might that hurt? : UPPERCUT

18-across – See 22 : OVER

20-across – Cricketer right to go, unfortunately run is declined to the frustration of the present opener? : BATTERIESNOT

23-across – One featuring in sort of diagram, a capital city : VIENNA

24-across – See 20 : INCLUDED

25-across – Item blown up muffles encouraging cries coming from the Austrian Alps : TYROLESE

26-across – Reason, perhaps, egg breaks : SANITY

2-down – Instrument designed for cutting? Top shaved : HARP

3-down – Go for one day keeping apart swine and pheasant, say : BOARDGAME

4-down – Mother last to swat greenbottles? : NATIVE

5-down – In the main, some fighting fit: athlete left with bone to repair : BATTLEOFTHENILE

6-down – Regular mostly keeps together with specially trained soldier : COMMANDO

7-down – Crazed genius’s heart controlled by tablet, perhaps? : MANIC

8-down – Buff beauty in ballet : NUTCRACKER

12-down – Those inherited after a break-up in my past life : STEPFAMILY

15-down – Sick spell and sick feeling after a change of policy : ABOUTTURN

16-down – Hood, warmer one : SCARFACE

19-down – Articulate Presbyterian leader strikes : KNOCKS

21-down – South American steps on llama trotting to market, all finally going berserk : TANGO

22-down – In bar, drunk oft remaining : LEFT