Daily Answers

9-across – Is working on novel, building literary muscle : SINEW

10-across – Virgin broadcast by Lisa without one complaint? : PNEUMONIA

11-across – Going like a rocket, when fitted with carbon tip : ASCENDING

12-across – Africa’s principal northerly island in a frenzy : AMUCK

13-across – Chump acquires modern marketplace, almost leading to reversal of growth : DIEBACK

15-across – See 20 : DISEASE

17-across – Children’s lives appeal : ISSUE

18-across – See 20 : ELM

20-across – Arboreal devastation of Middle East unleashed with such energy : DUTCH

22-across – Rabbit illusion: disappearance of tail, of stomach : GASTRIC

25-across – Channel indicator stuck between numerous limits : NARROWS

26-across – Tree on the way ahead : FIRST

27-across – Cutting panel for High Street surveyor’s use? : CLIPBOARD

30-across – Bitter flowed cold and oyster starter turned sour : RANCOROUS

31-across – Barrel ice houses a thing of the past : RELIC

1-down – Greek mountain bones : OSSA

2-down – Underwear that’s annoying : KNICKERS

3-down – Physicist who had a real light bulb moment saw out Newton : SWAN

4-down – Dotty Perkins comprehends Latin for baptise : SPRINKLE

5-down – New age, ground-breaking spear carrier? : SEAGOD

6-down – Country representative dances, head to foot a party queen : AMBASSADOR

7-down – Technically, a hoof is a northerner’s ear bent back under large body : UNGULA

8-down – Mischief, latitude and craft : LARK

13-down – Broadcaster’s changing colour on the way out : DYING

14-down – NASA’s last orbiter with an unstable irregularity : ABERRATION

16-down – The cast upset very distinctive character : ETHOS

19-down – Two seconds to replace the two lengths of lace shawl — a fractional part : MANTISSA

21-down – Element of Subbuteo: call it Mexican temple : TEOCALLI

23-down – Keeping neutral, shoot well : SPRING

24-down – Silly, gimmicky time announcer : CUCKOO

26-down – Bombardment of loveless resentment : FIRE

28-down – Swift sentence? : BIRD

29-down – Grace cards : DECK

1-across – Gorilla has to consume fruit outside : GREATAPE

5-across – One’s lucky in races beyond a mile : MASCOT

9-across – Chief means for a yacht to travel by sea? : MAINSAIL

10-across – Delivery man? : BOWLER

12-across – A backward idiot, apart from all else : ALOOF

13-across – What the listener does in actual practice : REHEARSAL

14-across – Push lever to gets news handout : PRESSRELEASE

18-across – Scornful of fashionable costume put on : CONTEMPTUOUS

21-across – River lighter may transfer the ashes : TESTMATCH

23-across – Relish a piece of impudence : SAUCE

24-across – Adult scholar with true disposition : MATURE

25-across – Girl to sign for earnings : SALARIES

26-across – Poverty to the French produces hostility : NEEDLE

27-across – Excluded lawyers’ right to be in action : DEBARRED

1-down – A pivotal aid at sea? : GIMBAL

2-down – He may have set feat­ures at work : EDITOR

3-down – The initial question is put with vigour and detachment : TASKFORCE

4-down – His rapport with me may lead to a life of pleasure : PRIMROSEPATH

6-down – Wool drops a point in the market : AGORA

7-down – Enormous deficit in solid fuel : COLOSSAL

8-down – When stream enters the river it provides excitement : THRILLER

11-down – Full board in a way : THOROUGHFARE

15-down – Crude oil in a USA state : LOUISIANA

16-down – Northerner gives berth on board to one of the crew : SCOTSMAN

17-down – Liqueur made in top Eastern state : ANISETTE

19-down – Sort of school French king goes up to after short month : JUNIOR

20-down – Well acquainted with the metric system : VERSED

22-down – Right, or in French, wrong : MORAL

1-across – How much of the main substance is present? It’s madness to include lithium : SALINITY

5-across – A run of four points ending in poor return : ANSWER

9-across – Girl needs way to cut chop for traditional dish : IRISHSTEW

11-across – Company having bad time in recession : TROOP

12-across – Hogwarts’ English exam? : SPELLINGTEST

15-across – Suspicion of faith, in truth : HINT

16-across – Story going over one’s head? : PORKPIEHAT

18-across – Mammal after insect, one of these oiled : CRICKETBAT

19-across – Composer has no limits for voice : ALTO

21-across – Heading for Sydney, the plane’s ready for you, sport! : SNOWBOARDING

24-across – Last word in gold, something cast in it : ADIEU

25-across – Double I, double K, double O, double L, a different E : LOOKALIKE

26-across – Join up lines around triangle at first : ENLIST

27-across – Natural boxer cut on the bottom beginning to hurt, giving grunt : HARRUMPH

1-down – Miss the captain : SKIP

2-down – Cut rail route from Birmingham? : LOIN

3-down – Mobile phone rings zero — futile : NOHOPE

4-down – A game of two halves? : TOTALFOOTBALL

6-down – Tripping in a tango, why does this keep happening? : NOTAGAIN

7-down – In site of caves, whisper sweet nothings through the door? : WOOKEYHOLE

8-down – Regarding something to sign, regarding something to sign? : REPETITION

10-down – Make any saddo a drink? : WHISKYANDSODA

13-down – Muslim ruler who’s unwise, did you say, to get fast food item? : THICKSHAKE

14-down – Overly concerned about cost, I twice put off retiring : ANTISOCIAL

17-down – Coventry City, the depression of the sports broadcasters? : SKYBLUES

20-down – Wrong exposition in New York? : UNFAIR

22-down – Secure business : FIRM

23-down – Certainly, you will need a hospital : YEAH

9-across – Nasty reactions to drug : NARCOTISE

10-across – Member coming from the centre made a speech? : SPOKE

11-across – A doctor full of filth — potential abuser of patient? : ADMIRER

12-across – With this therapeutic device one’s home and healthy, right? : INHALER

13-across – Extract item from box of ornaments? : CLIP

14-across – East Anglian town records nonconformists : DISSENTERS

15-across – Saint — he suffers with fast : INHASTE

17-across – Company importing wine is manageable : PLASTIC

19-across – Paid-up member, which vicar definitely is : CARDHOLDER

22-across – Bear has something to go through backwards : POOH

23-across – This person in African country brought back government system : REGIMEN

24-across – Entrance of old character holding old mother back : ENAMOUR

26-across – Get in the head to teach — not standard! : LEARN

27-across – A foreign mother piled on the years without a blemish : UNDAMAGED

1-down – Ring up the world? Quite the opposite : ANTARCTICCIRCLE

2-down – Fairly drab Friday food? Bring in the meat! : FRUMPISH

3-down – Bad men undermining work after revolution : POOR

4-down – Russian fighter fell down almost, due to medical condition : MIGRAINE

5-down – The man leading Earth’s revolution is a god : HELIOS

6-down – Debility in one half of continent followed by the other : ASTHENIA

7-down – Dog getting caught, one of a funny pair : COLLIE

8-down – Chemical diet — a character’s transformed : TETRASACCHARIDE

16-down – Society girl embraces friend, a noted fellow : SCHUMANN

17-down – See money before crooks : PREBENDS

18-down – Careful nevertheless to hold on to gold : THOROUGH

20-down – Garment of paper set on light removing hem : RAGLAN

21-down – Monkey’s laziness — lowest possible score issued : LANGUR

25-down – Mob foolish without leader : ARMY

1-across – Position adopted by idlers in desperate straits : BACKSTOTHEWALL

8-across – Brew of beer left to rise : REBEL

9-across – Large-scale migration for those seeking earthly riches : GOLDRUSH

11-across – Board transport in a violent rainstorm : ENTRAIN

12-across – He set to, prepared for the first golf stroke : TEESHOT

13-across – Try to walk like a crab and slide about : SIDLE

15-across – He can’t be trusted with a deal : CARDSHARP

17-across – Powerless to get substandard player suspended : HAMSTRUNG

20-across – Either way, it’s unacceptable : NOTON

21-across – It could not cope with a burning issue of AD 79 : POMPEII

23-across – Old Egyptian gambling game, it’s said : PHARAOH

25-across – Changing diet not a remedy : ANTIDOTE

26-across – Finishing off a cake? : ICING

27-across – When these retirement accounts are closed, all interest should cease : BEDTIMESTORIES

1-down – Clip joints? : BARBERSSHOPS

2-down – He explored Canada initially, with boat all at sea : CABOT

3-down – A fishmonger, for example? : SOLEAGENT

4-down – Naturally, such food is grown : ORGANIC

5-down – An armrest? : HOLSTER

6-down – Swore to reform but hasn’t got any better : WORSE

7-down – Fall in love, yet become discouraged : LOSEHEART

10-down – Lose no time to suppress loquacity : STEPONTHEGAS

14-down – Mom denied coming from such a disreputable class : DEMIMONDE

16-down – Romanians reformed this republic : SANMARINO

18-down – Livery stable : UNIFORM

19-down – Trees as old as the ark? : GOPHERS

22-down – Be way out about a point : EXIST

24-down – Bail set before one delivers defence : ALIBI