Daily Answers

1-across – Needle for decoration on artificial silk : OBELISK

5-across – Relatives get a quarter — sighs of relief! : NEPHEWS

10-across – Agreed, but not about being old : AGED

11-across – Where publicans are locked up? : BEHINDBARS

12-across – The old soldiers before one are Arabians : YEMENI

13-across – Slash the price of flimsy material : LACERATE

14-across – Delayed entering aisle, distressed, being nervous : ILLATEASE

16-across – The Irish Bill? : GARDA

17-across – Dock, where a sailor may sleep : BERTH

19-across – Describing insects with wings of short span : EPHEMERAL

23-across – The intelligentsia left going over the same thing again? It’s not on : LITERATI

24-across – Right sort of stock : EQUITY

26-across – Rival to study before exam — an exemplary worker : CONTESTANT

27-across – In a way, it may mean this month : INST

28-across – Every setback about it is instructive : TEACHES

29-across – Naval jail and potential inmate : BRIGAND

2-down – Important contract gets scornful response : BIGDEAL

3-down – House deposit : LODGE

4-down – Glorious rendering of Under the Linden Tree : SUBLIME

6-down – She can turn out to be an upper-class niece : EUNICE

7-down – Breathe in, when gone to sleep in winter : HIBERNATE

8-down – Wiped the floor with woollen fabric : WORSTED

9-down – Being wise, resigned : PHILOSOPHICAL

15-down – Teach unit members to become trustworthy : AUTHENTIC

18-down – The embodiment of a mince pie, in my opinion : EPITOME

20-down – Sort of seat for a high-flyer : EJECTOR

21-down – Sinatra, swinging expert : ARTISAN

22-down – A girl that is under another : LASSIE

25-down – Availing oneself of an American gin sling : USING

1-across – Jerk chicken starter? Bound to get a cut of meat : CHUMPCHOP

6-across – Fast writer : SWIFT

9-across – One having cooler experience after leaving the Tory Party? : EXCON

10-across – Father Christmas say, genuine, about to adopt the fourth strategy? : LAPLANDER

11-across – Flipping, flipping short clergyman : REV

12-across – Ticket back for returning Frenchwoman, fare from Italy : TAGLIATELLE

14-across – Be relevant to smart heads of academies in Norfolk : PERTAIN

15-across – Freezing cold for unknown character among obscure characters in a storm : SUBZERO

16-across – Was she forced by you to speak for the country? : JAMAICA

19-across – Days of the war originally meant for the country : VIETNAM

22-across – Neat acts up, dancing round back of shed, assembled from various places : CUTANDPASTE

23-across – Bow to wear, twisted : NOD

24-across – Crush repulsive freaks : PULVERISE

26-across – Feature entertaining one row : NOISE

27-across – Result of plucking turkeys with axes — nasty gashed heads : TWANG

28-across – Ram and goat etc exciting ratings aboard ship : STARSIGNS

1-down – Explain Shakespearean entering competition : CLEARUP

2-down – Each one opening, under no circumstances remaining open : UNCOVER

3-down – Marks in script where hoodlum has to eat Chinese, we hear? : PUNCTUATION

4-down – Facts supporting light overhead, an element of lamps? : HALOGEN

5-down – Source for drugs pious among Pius etc : POPPIES

6-down – Character in sound waves here : SEA

7-down – Eluding exercise, just gratify yourself! : INDULGE

8-down – Missile dropper drops odd bits amid confusion : TORPEDO

13-down – Sport for a drug-taking Olympic gold medallist? : TABLETENNIS

16-down – Lift large belly for the prize : JACKPOT

17-down – Warm embraces attending a musical for children : MATILDA

18-down – Iodine in fruit is suitable : APPLIES

19-down – Design varies to include a hundred internal parts : VISCERA

20-down – Eastern port making grandad queen then? : NANKING

21-down – Chaos and chaotic in disorder : MADNESS

25-down – Start of life the big bang, all conclude : EGG

1-across – Being in the wrong scene, exit : EXISTENCE

6-across – One of them will take you back in the car : GEAR

8-across – Remain silent? No, just the opposite : CONVERSE

9-across – Unrehearsed parts of the actor’s speech : ADLIBS

10-across – This may be arranged after the draw has taken place : REPLAY

11-across – A demand for attention : LOOKHERE

12-across – Turkish leader free to return to Moroccan port : AGADIR

15-across – Substitutes a man that’s good with bad : STANDSIN

16-across – Sailor determined to be acquitted : ABSOLVED

19-across – In high spirits, knock beer back with Edward : ELATED

21-across – Arsenal manager : ARMOURER

22-across – County clubs : STAFFS

24-across – Time to publish paper : TISSUE

25-across – They give a seat to one standing : ELECTORS

26-across – Large birds in cages : PENS

27-across – Poor puss finished, hanged : SUSPENDED

1-down – Leave secretly for the match : ELOPE

2-down – One who is ill and not operable? : INVALID

3-down – Leisurely way to enter a Scottish river : TARDY

4-down – Stacks of chalk required by dressmakers? : NEEDLES

5-down – Let off steam, perhaps? : EVAPORATE

6-down – Celebration to be enjoyed for a night, we hear : GALAHAD

7-down – Fruit popular in French inn : AUBERGINE

13-down – Fabric, being dear, replaced : GABERDINE

14-down – Northern banker retrieves recovery : RIVERTEES

17-down – More than one player is wearing new boots : OBOISTS

18-down – Architectural highlights : DORMERS

20-down – Made work play, perhaps : ADAPTED

22-down – Investment but not necessarily of capital : SIEGE

23-down – Sacked and burnt : FIRED

1-across – Am I, Shapps, not a vacuous, pompous minor calamity? : MISHAP

4-across – Alternative to opera : OPUSES

9-across – Reserve Chelsea captain overshadowing the other men, I fear : TERRITORIALARMY

10-across – Sisters bathing naked : WIMMIN

11-across – Means to spy on people he betrayed : PEEPHOLE

12-across – Three-minute warning before breakfast? : EGGTIMER

14-across – Stupid wombats periodically take stuff : OBTUSE

15-across – Saggy neck of mate we had briefly found revolting : DEWLAP

18-across – Takes knickers off : DEBRIEFS

21-across – Working men graft and become shattered : FRAGMENT

22-across – Luxury vehicle obstructing A6 : CAVIAR

24-across – Emulating Thatcher in breaking Anglo-Indian ties : DENATIONALISING

25-across – Singular, painful emotion bruited round : SPHERE

26-across – Illegible writing, first sign of sunstroke : SCRAWL

1-down – Encountering men, I get excited : MEETING

2-down – S. Coe’s rival beat it : SCRAM

3-down – Time to interrupt unnamed person opposite : ANTONYM

5-down – Cable screwed Post Office over, which may humour some deluded people : PLACEBO

6-down – Scoff uproariously at the pigs : SPAGHETTI

7-down – Tries upsetting Anglo-Saxon politician with support of the French : SAMPLES

8-down – Right to become rich, ignoring society : PROPER

13-down – Wiretap her : TELEGRAPH

16-down – Unable to hear a female peer? : EARLESS

17-down – Nick Bottom to make first appearance as prime minister : PREMIER

18-down – Catch detective arresting 10 : DETENT

19-down – Country starts to brave uncommonly violent wind : BUCOLIC

20-down – Facecloth and soft soap : FLANNEL

23-down – Panorama which appeared before 7? : VISTA

9-across – Was careful with sack full of duke’s letters about love : LOOKEDOUT

10-across – Meat dish made by adding sweet lolly : BREAD

11-across – Note strange reflection of artwork on wall : MURAL

12-across – Gobstopper in a mess, with bits of rock on ground : GRAVELLED

13-across – Corrupt brief charged with drugs handout : FREEBIE

14-across – Sweet-loving six-footer : FONDANT

17-across – No small islands around old port : OSTIA

19-across – School has not one device to download or upload, even : POD

20-across – What’s left, if I leave cold sweet? : CANDY

21-across – Keen to go wild, drink and party : KNEESUP

22-across – Empty sweet nothings by yard without showing any feeling : STONILY

24-across – Sweet : WATERSHED

26-across – Where to put degrees for a dog: at the start? : ONSET

28-across – Enough maple fudge? : AMPLE

29-across – Beyond queasy on two quarters of sweets : PASTILLES

1-down – Type of rock, typically sweet : GLAM

2-down – Definitely short and sweet, perhaps : COURSE

3-down – Spooner’s paunch over his trousers from sweets : JELLYBEANS

4-down – Secretly sweet on guest speaker : TONGUE

5-down – Shot at in road by airmen, hit by metal and died : STRAFFED

6-down – Boatman left sweetheart empowered : ABLE

7-down – No right to release disc by one trendy and smart : FEELPAIN

8-down – Had variable depth of focus, quick to change : ADHD

13-down – Sweet on little woman in dress : FROCK

15-down – Beneath name, corpse treated with oil found here : NECROPOLIS

16-down – Sweetly fragrant solver’s on top of Boatman : THYMY

18-down – Superior branches of stores are not quiet: after indulgence, they say : TREETOPS

19-down – Hurries on short trips to uncle’s premises : POPSHOPS

22-down – One who likes to see suffering solvers, a devilish invention scrambling their heads : SADIST

23-down – Nasty lesion found beneath foot : INSOLE

24-down – What makes you blue and sorrow’d, say? : WOAD

25-down – Regrets controls, a Liberal gone astray : RUES

27-down – Humbug is licked into shape here : TOSH