Daily Answers

1-across – Maybe there’s still life in what they do : ARTISTS

5-across – Circus artiste’s value is tumbling : ACROBAT

9-across – Chap’s first to enter minister’s home : MANSE

10-across – Drama one never sees performed : RADIOPLAY

11-across – Wee darling? : SWEETHEART

12-across – Like some wine? It’s no end crude! : BRUT

14-across – Turn one’s back on the roast second time round? : COLDSHOULDER

18-across – Given this freedom, name optician at random : EMANCIPATION

21-across – Routine hard for girl : RUTH

22-across – Settle area, wild land : REALESTATE

25-across – Win gold: I follow : SUCCESSOR

26-across – Drive back to dance round piano : REPEL

27-across – Second vegetable, like a tomato, taken on fork : SPEARED

28-across – Banshee terrified failing man : HASBEEN

1-down – A large majority? Not quite : ALMOST

2-down – Find a match here? This can flame up quickly : TINDER

3-down – One now weak, having given out on behalf of church : SPENTFORCE

4-down – Rush of crowd needs some calmness urgently : SURGE

5-down – Ordering heralds back to military town : ALDERSHOT

6-down – Space for one’s elbow? : ROOM

7-down – Glad beer is brewed by the Danube : BELGRADE

8-down – Film or plays, right? : TOYSTORY

13-down – Not feeling well, with no more anagrams to do? : OUTOFSORTS

15-down – Letters on keyboard can be low : DEPRESSED

16-down – New coins, one’s obsession : NEUROSIS

17-down – Hymn is horrible — cancel it : CANTICLE

19-down – Specimen, small, more than enough : SAMPLE

20-down – Film director, finally failing, took place in the ranks : FELLIN

23-down – Tree that’s between poplar and chestnut : LARCH

24-down – Feature of river no end odd : WEIR

1-across – Clear account and retire : ACQUIT

5-across – Dashed after Euro-politician’s returned for part of Wales : PEMBROKE

9-across – Final episode unable to be shown regularly : EVENTUAL

10-across – Editor behind contracted group pressuring cast : LOBBED

11-across – Lip, bloody lip! : BRIM

12-across – Player with little French put into cold changing room : COMPETITOR

13-across – Tense concerning 11 : ONEDGE

14-across – Male introduced to change rear part of motor : CAMSHAFT

16-across – Female leading feeble corporal, perhaps, in dance : FLAMENCO

19-across – Quiet woman, at heart excessively contrary : SOOTHE

21-across – Eg, seat belt adjusted for six-footer : STAGBEETLE

23-across – Star having first of her five a day? : VEGA

24-across – Game, part of it inspiring local backs : TENNIS

25-across – Cock-up — general initially missing part of motorway complex : SLIPROAD

26-across – Man’s man possibly wiser to go without wife across country : ISLANDER

27-across – Unctuous Farmer George given a piece of cake : GREASY

2-down – Info often enclosed, giving indemnity to landlords? : COVERINGLETTERS

3-down – Anonymous nude man sculpted : UNNAMED

4-down – Club’s empty restaurant served up meal without starter : TRUNCHEON

5-down – Controversial European music putting US off : POLEMIC

6-down – Nutmeg’s run into by learner — called AA initially : MILNE

7-down – Refuse two bachelors, one in haste : RUBBISH

8-down – Sign by restricted area, advice to those in rehab? : KEEPOFFTHEGRASS

15-down – Gathering has to take only its fourth call : MUSTERING

17-down – Mum putting a bloke in the shade : MAGENTA

18-down – Our best buckles not so smart : OBTUSER

20-down – Front of brochure primarily poet’s work : OBVERSE

22-down – Relaxed dressmaker turning up in odd places : EASED

1-across – Fleet Street’s original old man about to do wrong and injure a lawyer : SPANISHARMADA

10-across – One reportedly made secure investment choice? : UNITTRUST

11-across – Type of dressing essential for burn : SINGE

12-across – Pressgate? : CROWD

13-across – Where rest of ham never returned during wedding party? : GREENROOM

14-across – Mischief-maker follows a game live : ANIMATE

16-across – Sweet bread hot around Luxembourg : STOLLEN

18-across – Related couple dance round in church : COGNATE

20-across – Meets regularly in wooded valley estate : DEMESNE

21-across – Inconvenience of one new wee chair? : INCOMMODE

23-across – Good porridge rejected, if US version : GRITS

24-across – One dressed in black: flipping stoned mourner? : NIOBE

25-across – Lobby against sporting blue ties : VESTIBULE

26-across – Dog, having cocked up leg in street, keeps quiet : ENGLISHSETTER

2-down – Infecting one’s leg with iodine — and, sadly, no GP around : POISONING

3-down – Famous day school? On the contrary : NOTED

4-down – Arms raised and leg bent to get comfy? : SNUGGLE

5-down – Current Hair cast member : ACTRESS

6-down – Give fake news to schoolgirl, say? : MISINFORM

7-down – Sorry, I can’t help you up on horse first : DUNNO

8-down – Wife, not daughter, has arranged a discount, going round sales with lowered prices : DUTCHAUCTIONS

9-down – Illness caused by bug — one given various names by the French : GERMANMEASLES

15-down – A batter collecting runs, cricketer Warner : ALARMBELL

17-down – Dog bitten by dog and bone gets fatigue : LASSITUDE

19-down – Goes round topless, then matures : EVOLVES

20-down – Clothing medic top and bottom in scrubs? : DRESSES

22-down – Top part of grid in empty column : CROWN

23-down – Corny stuff in act Sir Galahad served up : GRIST

1-across – Huit cargo? : FREIGHT

5-across – Students, upset by low grade, now rioting at the end of the day : SUNDOWN

10-across – I see handle turned by superhero : ICEMAN

11-across – In general, small clothes : OVERALLS

12-across – Weapon £1,000? Nice one! : GUN

13-across – Caught taking back Silver, our cat : COUGAR

14-across – Multiplied total? Sounds horrible : GRUESOME

15-across – Cheat bridge partners, each with king : SNEAK

16-across – Profitable spring’s exhausted : WELLSPENT

19-across – Craft beers — how? Add a bit of malt : HOMEBREWS

21-across – Bird goes wild protecting egg : GOOSE

24-across – Roman Catholic’s revolted by online sins and splits : CREVICES

26-across – Magician Messi evades Ronaldo’s lunges in netting headers : MERLIN

27-across – Favourite jumper : TOP

28-across – Maverick provides show? False : DISPROVE

29-across – Fruit prepared over cooker : ORANGE

30-across – Cocaine found in tea, right? It’s not true : CHARLIE

31-across – Fools subdue good man with taunts : JESTERS

2-down – US mammal managed to inhale cold carbon dioxide? : RACCOON

3-down – Come in, I’m travelling both ways with great excitement : IMMIGRATE

4-down – Adult leaves country with longing : HUNGRY

6-down – American lorry emptied after fuel spill in practical way : USEFULLY

7-down – Martin and James, as heads of school? : DEANS

8-down – Fellow left to turn into female monster : WOLFMAN

9-down – Stuttering woe produced by this? : TONGUETWISTER

17-down – Cor! Parent in the making? : PROCREANT

18-down – Vegetable producer : BROCCOLI

20-down – Sea creature Spooner has around 4? : OARFISH

22-down – Isn’t busy good queen bee? : STINGER

23-down – Politician enters No 10 with special European charge : IMPOSE

25-down – Privet trimmed unusually as a snake : VIPER

1-across – Settled without police action : DECIDED

5-across – Artist having refreshing drink — it’s bitter : CHAGALL

9-across – Tree surgeon’s last journey across road : NGAIO

10-across – Queen stops duke with Chinese delegation’s leader becoming personal : FIRSTHAND

11-across – Finished by topping aristocrats : UPPERCRUST

12-across – Corporation’s rejected material unsuitable for Auntie? : SMUT

14-across – Hard to believe that’s it — look round South American city : TALLAHASSEE

18-across – See 1 down : LIKEAKIPPER

21-across – Practice of few on Twitter : WONT

22-across – Theatre worker getting axe — new cast sure to follow : SCRUBNURSE

25-across – Solve and rate cryptic : ELEVATORS

26-across – Enthusiastic but not sure about time : EAGER

27-across – Drunken Glaswegian possibly caught out : SOTTISH

28-across – Private parts Republican’s grabbed? They’ll make an examination : TESTERS

1-down – Bamboozled Irish politicians : DONEUP

2-down – Fellows with money invested the best : CHAMPS

3-down – Could be a rise — ta, God … or words to that effect : DEOGRATIAS

4-down – Freed after treatment put back : DEFER

5-down – Deck guy who’s cheating? : CARDSHARP

6-down – Do without leader becoming pretentious : ARTY

7-down – Top celebrities tooled up? One worries unduly : ALARMIST

8-down – Women like young men — dealt harshly with what I do when rampant : LADETTES

13-down – Said what Thatcher finally became — no issue with it : BARRENNESS

15-down – Treat once penniless child — no fortune involved but it will cover the essentials : LOINCLOTH

16-down – Female criminal unmarked : FLAWLESS

17-down – Extremely poor way to determine allergy? : SKINTEST

19-down – Britain’s self-inflicted error — review of Brussels way of talking … : BROGUE

20-down – … right? Border being set up is rubbish : DEBRIS

23-down – Advocates publishing this, providing a surprising result : UPSET

24-down – Make heavy demands on current vehicle : TAXI