Daily Answers

1-across – Spooner’s awful misty weather? Hearth’s the place for one to be : FIREDOG

5-across – Reveal peacekeepers wanting sudden improvement across society : UNBOSOM

9-across – Officer and ordinary soldiers locked in toilet : COMMODORE

10-across – Force back partner’s head in dance : REPEL

11-across – Endless sweet cake is wrong : TORT

12-across – What may produce bangs that could be supersonic : PERCUSSION

14-across – Sun has to be demeaning to women? : SEXIST

15-across – Film in San Marino not so bad : RAINMAN

16-across – Liberal held in derision, making one cross : SALTIRE

18-across – Party order — two articles delivered outside : ATHOME

20-across – Where you may find shrubs pruned raggedly — just some! : BACKGARDEN

21-across – Weary one falling before end of walk — a long one : TREK

24-across – Compass shows north, needed in storm : RANGE

25-across – Single island in setting that’s not spoilt : UNMARRIED

26-across – Best man seen round back of hotel, drunk : PICKLED

27-across – Denies entrance into cosy home, when time has passed : NEGATES

1-down – This person did the work and put on a false show, we hear : FECIT

2-down – Some err, wanting new direction — feeling this? : REMORSE

3-down – Give up work, when under the doctor : DROP

4-down – What to do for pre-match security? Look at the issues : GOOVERTHEGROUND

5-down – Crusade going wrong with surprising lameness — do they want to put the clock back? : USEDCARSALESMEN

6-down – Vessels, any number, in bay for time of celebration : BURNSNIGHT

7-down – Thus Greek character’s beginning to make specious argument : SOPHISM

8-down – Colouring matter — minute dash goes in : MELANIN

13-down – Bed chamber? : DIVINGBELL

16-down – Old boy has hesitation during drink — needing to do this? : SOBERUP

17-down – Lecturer, a figure in mathematics, brief and to the point : LACONIC

19-down – One could create max. stir, maybe? : MARXIST

22-down – Praise message of indifference to nation? The reverse! : KUDOS

23-down – Puff? Puff perhaps, when legless : DRAG

7-across – Owner of shop in Suffolk to be in place of films : DEBENHAM

9-across – Unpleasant author ridiculing piece : HORRID

10-across – 25’s namesake of many colours : IRIS

11-across – 10’s work : SANDCASTLE

12-across – Variations in code who could possibly imagine? Not I : ENIGMA

14-across – 25 as clergyman? : SKYPILOT

15-across – Araucaria in Queer Street : SETTER

17-across – Virgin saint eaten by calf : VESTAL

20-across – Flag for 24 across, maybe, also in commendation end to end : STANDARD

22-across – 25, singular mate of 25 : BROOKE

23-across – 10’s work : UNOFFICIAL

24-across – See 23 : ROSE

25-across – Rugby forward, namesake of 10 and half of 1 : RUPERT

26-across – Oddly notioned period around 12 : NOONTIDE

1-down – Positional sense requiring lubrication? : BEARINGS

2-down – Points for 25 when international : NEWS

3-down – Demonstrative article repeated by 10 : THESEA

4-down – Leaders from Bletchley, about 500, found location for shipbuilding : THECLYDE

5-down – Food from 6 — transfer it to Corpus : PROSCIUTTO

6-down – Bring money from Tehran to appropriate part of Venice : RIALTO

8-down – Finding damp round pole, I believe all’s one : MONIST

13-down – Secure release of a prisoner in special offer : GETONEFREE

16-down – Reduce size of electronic friend without intelligence : EMACIATE

18-down – Left film bird in keeping of assistant by the water : LAKESIDE

19-down – Mole and air freshener? : ADRIAN

21-down – Speaker out of orbit on guest night : TONGUE

22-down – Author of work by 10 with little piece of 10 and 25 : BELLOC

24-down – Pity her loss of initial facts : RUTH

7-across – See 12 : COTTAGE

8-across – Dicky Hunt holding firm, with leader of union touching base : UNCOUTH

9-across – Speak without distinction, reversing laws lacking energy : SLUR

10-across – Oil blended in French wine: Bob Kennedy’s performing aid : VIOLINBOW

12-across – Capital place supplying two sorts of cheese : SWISS

13-across – Nearby row surrounded on all sides : CLOSEDIN

15-across – See 24 : BATH

16-across – Fig tree possibly restricts weight reduction: beware of such an offering : GREEK

17-across – See 5 : CHIN

18-across – Acted like one who doesn’t go in for conventional bedtime activity? : SLEPTOUT

20-across – Missus, having 100 years of the Guardian, displays spirited confidence? : DUTCH

21-across – Eg Laurel and Hardy’s dodo : DOUBLEACT

22-across – See 16 : GIFT

24-across – Fancy UK T-shirt? Bah! — you’ll sweat in it : TURKISH

25-across – See 20 : COURAGE

1-down – See 21 : ROLL

2-down – Fir moved into store that has several arms, mainly : STARFISH

3-down – Very long time holding up Virginia’s plants : AGAVES

4-down – As might be brakes of tank with coil rotation : ANTILOCK

5-down – Not a single feature that would make old-style toast : DOUBLE

6-down – See 14 : STEW

11-down – Group of players or front running athletic starters : ORCHESTRA

12-down – Quiet boring thing’s clothing item? : SHAWL

14-down – Perhaps Murdoch wants the SW broadcast dish : IRISH

16-down – Irish lough without its source river turned unwholesome : GHOULISH

17-down – Familiar female film star, bloody sort : CATEGORY

19-down – Brave as a rose picker? : PLUCKY

20-down – Electronic concern when reverse circuit terminals in ruin : DOTCOM

21-down – Beats introducing performer’s speciality act? : DRUM

23-down – Fruits singularly not given by uncaring types : FIGS

1-across – Sailors who have many relations? : MATELOTS

5-across – Fully committed, dad and I join Unionists : PAIDUP

9-across – Acolyte starts to forswear open-mindedness, like one of the herd? : FOLLOWER

10-across – Spooner’s to kill writer and collect £200! : PASSGO

12-across – Couple in USA regularly picked flowers : OPENS

13-across – Helped hide the claret? : FURTHERED

14-across – Plots involving high-speed races : MACHINATIONS

18-across – Source of retired aunt’s tailored, fashionable top : FOUNTAINHEAD

21-across – Haiti cops dressed in pale green : PISTACHIO

23-across – Corrupt president’s interment : SPOIL

24-across – Energy supply? Dave ignored privatised wrongdoing : SPIRIT

25-across – She’s over-groomed : BIGAMIST

26-across – Unearth old philosopher : EXHUME

27-across – Stealing 80% of everything movable : THIEVERY

1-down – The legend of Arachne? That’s a tall story! : MYFOOT

2-down – Rang and gave away secrets on air : TOLLED

3-down – Charms spoil with time, so get on with it! : LOOKSMART

4-down – What you will otherwise do on 6 January : TWELFTHNIGHT

6-down – A sector of Fukushima was hazardously thus : AWASH

7-down – Feyerabend finally is in favour of falsification : DISPROOF

8-down – Postured preposterously, having highest opinion of oneself : PROUDEST

11-down – Finish like Marie Curie? : FRENCHPOLISH

15-down – Farsi can become français, if you do this : TRANSLATE

16-down – Away I step, ill-prepared — or not prepared — for skiing : OFFPISTE

17-down – Browning perhaps subverting cosy oral tale : GUNSMITH

19-down – I have supper after ten : IODINE

20-down – Showing no emotion as muscle gets caught in zip : FLATLY

22-down – Principle aside, love to get married! : AXIOM

7-across – Urn depicting Saint Valentine, the first one taken in by love in Latin verse : SAMOVAR

8-across – Backing faux naif about marriage vow : INAIDOF

9-across – Boy and sweetheart, in love : NEIL

10-across – Mark, notably a single, is desperate : SIGNALISE

12-across – Old Labour leader could stay at home and capture lover’s heart : BEVIN

13-across – Regret repeat of a loss? : NOTAGAIN

15-across – Lacking warmth? To start, blame old style education : BRRR

16-across – See 21 down : OLOGY

17-across – Discover endless source of love : HEAR

18-across – Latin trios: trite playing around centre of Alzetto : TERZETTI

20-across – Modern British setting for Rodin’s lovers in gentle symbol of love : STATE

21-across – Old Jewish court and shrine rebuilt : SANHEDRIN

22-across – See 5 : ROOM

24-across – Change of heart for rotter, untouched by love : RAPTURE

25-across – A thousand singles make mouth music, like Rodin’s lovers : KISSING

1-down – Take out a girl : KATE

2-down – Overwhelm sweetheart after polite introduction : BOWLOVER

3-down – Die for love without Boatman : PASSON

4-down – They take arms of trendy lover with taste : INFANTRY

5-down – Where to relax with : LIVING

6-down – See 12 : POLE

11-down – Boatman Rodin sculpted with Lego : GONDOLIER

12-down – Run away in love, take up and stick to Boatman : BARGE

14-down – Crazy again — an endearment withheld : INANE

16-down – See 20 Across : OFTHEART

17-down – Honey, first and dearest, somehow put this behind you and go off safely : HEADREST

19-down – What’s the pinnacle of eathtern thought? : ZENITH

20-down – Instructed to attack in tennis game : SENTIN

21-down – Interest in obscene and difficult work about Latin writer : SCAT

23-down – Sound of animal from an empty pen? : OINK