Daily Answers

1-across – Send back starter of grouse, possible disappointment for toast lover eating hot game : MAHJONG

5-across – Old devil, bathing everyone from behind in light : OILLAMP

9-across – Collected by Speroni, Chelsea corner : NICHE

10-across – Get communist to reverse the post-conviction termination of civil rights : ATTAINDER

11-across – More than one opposite that is seen differently : ANTITHESES

12-across – Thickening mixture the way for French speakers : ROUX

14-across – Involved in divorce proceedings, as house may be? : SEMIDETACHED

18-across – 16 heard an old song : HELLOGOODBYE

21-across – Hertfordshire town — at which place, did you say? : WARE

22-across – Duchy with a house dragon bought as negotiable? Bury the hatchet before heading for court : SAXECOBURG

25-across – Army having landed in Italy, without the guts for aggression : HOSTILITY

26-across – See 24 down : PRAWN

27-across – Got to eat right piece? Bad egg! : WRONGUN

28-across – Lathe work reminiscent of an English artist, perhaps? : TURNERY

1-down – Hand over fish, snapper : MANRAY

2-down – Enchanting Shakespearean character, Tom Cruise’s Bottom : HECATE

3-down – Public dance squeezing in extra time initially, too much : OVERTHETOP

4-down – Reportedly wonderful setting for the Ashes : GRATE

5-down – Recovering at the far side, about a thousand : ONTHEMEND

6-down – Username and password no good for private area : LOIN

7-down – See 22 across : ANDGOTHA

8-down – Waste liquid covering bovine in free bleach : PEROXIDE

13-down – Actor happy once to embrace end of war, dove welcoming start of peacetime : GARYCOOPER

15-down – In loo I sat, puzzling in seclusion : ISOLATION

16-down – Horse fed to animal, food for dog : CHOWCHOW

17-down – Outside broadcast so clear about frequency : ALFRESCO

19-down – Say what you want to do with disease, clergyman? : CURATE

20-down – Years spent living over French city, having abandoned an office : AGENCY

23-down – Germany extremely inept as a nation : EGYPT

24-down – Men eating last of lobster, seafood : KING

8-across – Self-righteous cheat to arrest or a flipping rogue? : PICAROON

9-across – Taking part in conga, be civilised about one embracing a rock group? : ICEBAG

10-across – Slug that’s no snail? : BULLET

11-across – Origin of crop circle on field becoming trans­parent : CLEARING

12-across – Early rise in the East and set around West : DAWN

13-across – Master murderer back with friend in a mad way : MANIACALLY

15-across – Glandular infection’s outbreak, one about to be caught by tot : ADENOID

16-across – Anon describing me, close to accurate? : SOMEONE

18-across – Singer rated worst, two-starred, and rotter with wads to splash around : RODSTEWART

19-across – US state capitals of Indiana and Oregon wielding authority : IOWA

20-across – Practical housing we knocked over for all to see? : VIEWABLE

22-across – Contents of boxes certainly flowers : OXEYES

23-across – Mineral in a measure of liquid, unknown : QUARTZ

24-across – American behind bars, enclosure with little room : JOHNCAGE

1-down – America going after monstrous Sunni dictator, bloody tragedy : TITUSANDRONICUS

2-down – Own up about everyone working and working on command, be responsible and quit : FALLONONESSWORD

3-down – Crucial point: I have had a most rare vision, for example? : BOTTOMLINE

4-down – See 5 : ENSCENE

5-down – Machiavellian in essence, setter is going about setting the stage : MISE

6-down – This generally inadmissible, therefore a case for attention: advise criminal to withhold testimony, ultimately : HEARSAYEVIDENCE

7-down – Relations dwell on vagrant implicating king in mass murder : CARNALKNOWLEDGE

14-down – Mark raised concerns finally in biblical text, a preacher almost bottling it? : APOSTROPHE

17-down – Dog, wretched name James, scratching bottom : BASENJI

21-down – Moonwalker’s activity in the colonies? : BUZZ

1-across – Schrodinger’s cat, terrified about dispersion of particles : SCATTER

5-across – Worms dog, shamefaced figure : HUNDRED

9-across – Get the better of team in goalless draw : OUTDO

10-across – Security of false teeth is assumed : DEBENTURE

11-across – Vicious, regressive Blairism, without originator strangely different : DISSIMILAR

12-across – Barker’s regularly backing Djokovic? : SERB

14-across – Lose temper, mouth twitching, after everything starts to implode suddenly : GOBALLISTIC

18-across – Don’t lose hope! Do I deserve any? : NEVERSAYDIE

21-across – Suspicious as wife travels eastward by unexpected route : AWRY

22-across – Wave of excessive euphoria, dropping E’s : UNDULATION

25-across – Senior going back in time machine, arriving late : TARDINESS

26-across – Your old, watery eyes expressing agreement : THINE

27-across – Naked, slippery creature said to be Roosevelt’s baby : NEWDEAL

28-across – Knit unobserved — one of the Queen’s jobs for this evening : TONIGHT

1-down – Rebukes Siberian wearing smalls : SCOLDS

2-down – Most suitable time to feed monkeys tea, we hear : APTEST

3-down – Annoy wife with strong V-sign : TWOFINGERS

4-down – Tailless rodent with 502 bones : RADII

5-down – According to Spooner, toff welcomed being supplied with strong studs : HOBNAILED

6-down – Religious people censoring love in parts of speech : NUNS

7-down – Game or sport involving ball and detailed communication : ROULETTE

8-down – Clever chap keeping abed, sadly withered : DIEDBACK

13-down – Weaselly type, dodgy Pinner mate : PINEMARTEN

15-down – A bit of a thinker, of unusual brilliance but lacking independence : BRAINCELL

16-down – Loose bowels voided, Englishman likely to run ahead : UNFASTEN

17-down – Exaggerate when describing unwanted tie : OVERDRAW

19-down – Making children squeal, I run inside : SIRING

20-down – Scoff jokingly, aloud : INGEST

23-down – Unhappy pups let off leads : UPSET

24-down – Sentence, one foot in length, cut by two thirds : LIFE

9-across – Dissolute chap drinks good French red : ROUGE

10-across – Bony bits in ear — wager about five all round : VERTEBRAE

11-across – Untidy women mislaid Len’s tarts : SLATTERNS

12-across – Note to social worker’s intended : MEANT

13-across – Some Mother’s Pride? Worried about one slice having no crusts : LIONCUB

15-across – Constant snot supply in nose often picked at first : NONSTOP

17-across – Virgin, topless and bottomless, to show not Jewish? : ARYAN

18-across – With starter finally re­placed, consumed meal : TEA

20-across – Short time before eating seconds : TERSE

22-across – Drop a query somewhat less easy to understand : OPAQUER

25-across – Demands this month’s cover for One Direction : INSISTS

26-across – Greek character, soldier and model live in squalor : PIGIT

27-across – Volunteers to wear a G-string mostly designed for a heavenly body : GIANTSTAR

30-across – Simple writing about space for flat dwellers? : PLAINSMEN

31-across – A large computer returned name of God : ALLAH

1-down – Arsenal’s content members … : ARMS

2-down – … one of which is flipping politician of no value : NUGATORY

3-down – Oops, freshly out of potatoes newly dug : TEAT

4-down – All parts of computer memory that can be on or off to the same degree : EVERYBIT

5-down – Up the Gunners! ringing around one lost away leg, initially : ARISEN

6-down – Stops white ants covering new area : TERMINATES

7-down – Straying partner, topless, putting it about : ERRANT

8-down – Let rip : RENT

13-down – Motherless animal raised on plain : LLANO

14-down – Doctor, you said, left wearing uniform : CONSULTANT

16-down – Closely packed crowd in lift : PRESS

19-down – Puck, lusty creature, into female birds in the area : AVIFAUNA

21-down – Make new home right above East Yorkshire town : RESETTLE

23-down – Dog given a name after a series of letters : AFGHAN

24-down – Cook starts to explain echidna’s grim diet? : REGIME

26-down – Immature creature — ant’s first stage as insect : PUPA

28-down – Stimulate a tart’s nipple : TEAT

29-down – Builder hurriedly erected housing area in Germany : RUHR

1-across – Start to be better than anyone at crossword compiling? : OUTSET

5-across – Pain and deprivation for optimistic character : PANGLOSS

9-across – Picked up criminal with second name that’s Brown : CINNAMON

10-across – Strip when taking off top in resort, a Gallic fashion : RUNWAY

11-across – Something seen in Aldi to dismay leading Tories : CHILLCABINET

13-across – Almost stand up or sit down on this : REAR

14-across – Conceding close to century, fellow’s out playing cricket : YIELDING

17-across – Giant insects besetting Henry : BEHEMOTH

18-across – Crikey! King’s in anorak : GEEK

20-across – Unable to continue racy bedroom chats : HORSDECOMBAT

23-across – Daddy gets girl a fine coat : PATINA

24-across – Single to be excited about having dated : OBSOLETE

25-across – Deposit money in extremely safe organisation managing estates : SEDIMENT

26-across – Pick up birds outside of Exeter, heading west : RESUME

2-down – Where to study time in detail : UNIT

3-down – Wave from Victor in easy position : SINECURVE

4-down – Bird, male goose, losing weight : TOMTIT

5-down – Teutons play amazingly, suppressing laugh when England generally loses? : PENALTYSHOOTOUT

6-down – Reports managed to raise tax : NARRATES

7-down – Organ shown by one Indian’s loincloth : LUNGI

8-down – Where City workers look for sex and hire models : SHAREINDEX

12-down – Cherry, green grass and earth? Go for another look : REDECORATE

15-down – Figures inspiring fighter is something to get the pulse racing : DIGITALIS

16-down – What journalists offer is done in pen : COVERAGE

19-down – Cruel person rating one on horse, perhaps : ABUSER

21-down – Like some films? Loudly express despair with heads of film industry : SCIFI

22-down – Stay in south, returning satisfied : STEM