Daily Answers

1-across – Working hard earlier, temporarily delayed : ONHOLD

4-across – Joined a day late? No answer : WEDDED

9-across – Good inside? He’s skint and an arse — run, don’t trust him! : SNAKEINTHEGRASS

10-across – Complaint odds have been switched : MURMUR

11-across – Reassurance when 1 across, which might be 2 : YOURCALL

12-across – Heavy Wimbledon favourite once overcoming champion : HENCHMAN

14-across – Two ladies and another, who could be a man : EVELYN

15-across – Paramilitaries with role in city state : SPARTA

18-across – Lie with young lady on top : MISSPEAK

21-across – Are caught ringing round, looking for reaction to posting : TROLLING

22-across – Illuminating point made in newspaper cutting : APERCU

24-across – See 11 : ISIMPORTANTTOUS

25-across – Called — went first to Berkshire home? : STYLED

26-across – Man shortened lease on holiday accommodation : CHALET

1-down – Regarding common sense, egghead’s a waste of space : OFNOUSE

2-down – Bull guarded by drone is fine : HOKUM

3-down – Lie about Irish town and county : LEITRIM

5-down – Realise river’s attractive : EXECUTE

6-down – Had to cut price, unfortunately — it’s a bargain : DIRTCHEAP

7-down – Show policemen president, initially, did lie : DISPLAY

8-down – Don’t go! — appeal that’s heartfelt finally accepted : STAYON

13-down – I’m surprised to see Green in old steel town : CORBLIMEY

16-down – Points after unusually sharp words : PHRASES

17-down – Fatty’s ideas for exercise — drinking a lot of soda : ADIPOSE

18-down – Little fellow — in EastEnders he sounded big : MIGHTY

19-down – Stop some teachers holding one up in school : STAUNCH

20-down – Relation, as Dracula was said to be : ACCOUNT

23-down – Speak highly of old lecturer to dons : EXTOL

1-across – Spare place that’s used by cook at sea? : BOWLINGALLEY

9-across – Record why Sally’s left : DIARY

10-across – Is on horse jockey targets at meeting? : BESTRIDES

11-across – Trying one end of cigar — smoke’s blown : IRKSOME

12-across – Perfect flipping time to spread feature on mosque : MINARET

13-across – Social media users write tat — it’s awful : TWITTERATI

15-across – Like holding flash book : AMOS

18-across – Figures sold at auction houses : DATA

19-across – British nurses agree about study in local area : BEERGARDEN

22-across – Travelling to old city is start of mission : TOURISM

24-across – Cutter’s crew was almost retired : HANDSAW

25-across – Simple iron, say … ball’s out of bounds : ELEMENTAL

26-across – Description of Els’s scores : LINES

27-across – Cheese somewhat overlapping edge of base for celebrity chef : RIVERCOTTAGE

1-down – Billionaire’s first to not offer tip in bar : BLACKLIST

2-down – Seaside town us kids mark for investment : WEYMOUTH

3-down – Fill one’s sad line out : IMBUE

4-down – Supply Middle East storage — one of these? : GASOMETER

5-down – One used to scream at rat, initially, with cat circling : LARYNX

6-down – It sounds like your setter got a duck : EIDER

7-down – I can’t stop cat — did monkeys? : ADDICT

8-down – Currently, warship tails every other one : ASITIS

14-down – Bits of house reportedly suffering from inflexibility : RHEUMATIC

16-down – Manufactured feeling was clearly explained : MADESENSE

17-down – One’s blooming great desire in the morning, after getting up : MAGNOLIA

18-down – Stew in France, said to touch that woman : DITHER

20-down – Most recent points : NEWEST

21-down – Believe paper reported those rowing in this : BIREME

23-down – Growth areas of computer industry : UTERI

24-down – Being in slavery topped everything : HELOT

1-across – Pipe band’s leader chasing sailors, wearing Chanel : CORNCOB

5-across – Rotate teepee : TWIDDLE

9-across – Nancy’s one swan is set free : UNPEN

10-across – Bouncy, half-cut barman turns and departs for walk : BOULEVARD

11-across – Gamble with a contraceptive method? A brainwave! : BETARHYTHM

12-across – Every so often go crazy over pasta : ORZO

14-across – Cairo-born criminal ringing commercial dating agency : RADIOCARBON

18-across – Coppers slam heartless order to leave train : SMALLCHANGE

21-across – One ignored unspoken diplomacy : TACT

22-across – Cheating outrageously at ludo, Sue is probed by copper at last : ADULTEROUS

25-across – Twisted and turned more than needed : REDUNDANT

26-across – Either end of ancient American vessel : AORTA

27-across – Struggling to evacuate county town of Cornwall, briefly : COSTIVE

28-across – Having lost perp stupidly, poor copper’s been blue : OBSCENE

1-down – Lord Copper edging closer to junior doctors : CRUMBS

2-down – Standing on couch with foot in bandage : REPUTE

3-down – Result of flying high over River Wye, reportedly in reverse direction : CONTRARILY

4-down – Barnet lad discontented copper : BOBBY

5-down – Land or borough in Holland for Spooner : TOUCHDOWN

6-down – Regularly nibble and kiss horny mountaineer : IBEX

7-down – Starts to denounce inequality and social division in rant : DIATRIBE

8-down – In row D? : ENDTOEND

13-down – Group including copper and bishop run down hill backwards : BASEMETALS

15-down – Dry-eyed husband angrily stifling curses : DEHYDRATE

16-down – Obscure boozer between centre of Cleveleys and Morecambe? : ESOTERIC

17-down – Nipper picked up poems and scanned lines : BARCODES

19-down – Crude paddles in dugout canoe : COARSE

20-down – Test a Tesla stock car : ESTATE

23-down – Club finally lost extremely tight game : LOTTO

24-down – Opposed to social worker removing kids from Sid : ANTI

9-across – Given time, a small work becomes a major one : OPERA

10-across – Standing order, rigidly obeyed : ATTENTION

11-across – Foolishly maintain Spain is without vitality : INANIMATE

12-across – Many times decimal : OFTEN

13-across – Two ways to learn languages, it’s rumoured : HEARSAY

15-across – New cartels in the red? : SCARLET

17-across – Thought trainee perfect : IDEAL

18-across – Sign of nerves in a politician : TIC

20-across – Nitre treated like nitrogen : INERT

22-across – Performer tires at appearing in Variety : ARTISTE

25-across – One of a group knocked down in an alley : NINEPIN

26-across – Money raised by word of mouth : BREAD

27-across – One taking steps to make himself heard : TAPDANCER

30-across – Support drink that can’t be diluted in remote area : BACKWATER

31-across – Top decoration for a woman : TIARA

1-down – Provided encircled commanding officer upset with meeting points : FOCI

2-down – State of being guided upwards with knowledge : DELAWARE

3-down – Silver wrapped up in note for old priests : MAGI

4-down – Agent changes last act around the 4th of July : CATALYST

5-down – Tension disturbed rest on ship : STRESS

6-down – A fashionable career in conjuring : INVOCATION

7-down – Mistress Quickly’s husband may be fired : PISTOL

8-down – Unidentified girl accepts ring : ANON

13-down – Bertha, if asked, provides port : HAIFA

14-down – A drop in the ocean : SPLASHDOWN

16-down – Small bird and an enormous one : TITAN

19-down – Scheme for church to contain prison outbreak : CONSPIRE

21-down – Particular mixture of ale and spice : ESPECIAL

23-down – From there, one may see the point on church : THENCE

24-down – Body essence : ENTITY

26-down – Child born before Lincoln : BABE

28-down – Wine that sparkles when it is reflected : ASTI

29-down – Stern breed : REAR

1-across – National reps adjusted cost price : DIPLOMATICCORPS

9-across – Slob in bar, knocking it back? : BOOZEUP

10-across – Person responsible for laying out poet : SPENDER

11-across – Cardinal rejecting anything northern : TWO

12-across – Line lost in presenting account to posh colleague with forked tongue? : BILINGUALLY

13-across – Harry O’Brien and a Scotsman : ABERDONIAN

15-across – Old Bill nabbing revolutionary for one : AGED

18-across – Thoroughly weary butcher : DOIN

20-across – New blade flipped in deception’s getting sharper : STEEPENING

23-across – Means of paying bill a peer’s pocketed : POSTALORDER

25-across – Decline to fix number of games : SET

26-across – Pure Cockney politician reviewed top-class games venue : OLYMPIA

27-across – On boy’s return, adult leaves test for a breather : NOSTRIL

28-across – Inconsistent rules accepted during matches : DOUBLESTANDARDS

1-down – One way to fix bad credit? : DEBITCARD

2-down – Champion for second time close to failure : PROMOTE

3-down – Offers more than one penny, pre-decimal in ordinary words : OVERBIDS

4-down – Dismay as a neighbour of Santa turns up? : APPAL

5-down – Hardened criminal isn’t seen casing area : INSENSATE

6-down – Verbally stop item written by 10 : CHEQUE

7-down – Danger signal featuring after 6 at Monza? : REDFLAG

8-down – Bad-tempered mare’s last to leave, no doubt : SURLY

14-down – Annalist busy acquiring old papers : NATIONALS

16-down – Stimulant — love it, second boxer admitted : DIGITALIS

17-down – Person wanting to keep piano up played again : REPRISED

19-down – Promissory note imbued with a delicate blue — whatever next? : IASKYOU

21-down – Firm with policies making home safer? : INSURER

22-down – Pope’s restricting abbey’s latest provision for e-10 : PAYPAL

23-down – August men in provincial party rising : PROUD

24-down – Italian lady introduced to London nanny : DONNA