Daily Answers

1-across – Nationalist group outwardly glib : PATRIOT

5-across – Have gang passed centre? : POSSESS

9-across – Wonder about a knight being alert : AWAKE

10-across – Centipede perhaps with tip of head trapped by faulty trapdoor : ARTHROPOD

11-across – Fatigue as heinous tax rejigged : EXHAUSTION

12-across – Powder that artillery light carefully at first : TALC

14-across – Can rub oil around with it as means of reducing friction : LUBRICATION

18-across – Negative plan without including man still : NONETHELESS

21-across – Raise back : REAR

22-across – Decision concerning answer : RESOLUTION

25-across – Essential nature of university leader announced : PRINCIPLE

26-across – Tense old lady coming back with old man somewhere in Florida : TAMPA

27-across – Follows sailor as guiding light : DOGSTAR

28-across – Crowds right to wear skimpy pants : THRONGS

1-down – Reached height of powers and looked for audience : PEAKED

2-down – Rubbish attempt to hug tree : TRASHY

3-down – Imbalance of popular European property : INEQUALITY

4-down – Tribute from wild stoat : TOAST

5-down – Look down on seaport in resort : PATRONISE

6-down – Kind of game with no players initially : SORT

7-down – Stress energy rate unchanged : EMPHASIS

8-down – Charming son developing : SEDUCING

13-down – Approve necessity about to be returned to bear examination : PASSMUSTER

15-down – Spooner’s important alarm for apiarist : BEEKEEPER

16-down – First of issues printed out without fear : INTREPID

17-down – Captivating fighting : ENGAGING

19-down – Hot bloke holds appeal for assassin : HITMAN

20-down – Wails about taking in new husband’s family? : INLAWS

23-down – Open ended on time : OVERT

24-down – Glaswegian maybe hiding in friend’s cottage : SCOT

7-across – Surprisingly see quail heading for Somerset Levels : EQUALISES

8-across – Ace compère introducing bargain regularly : MAGIC

9-across – Misrepresented in spades? : PASSEDOFF

10-across – Australia cheers maiden over – it’s a cracker! : MATZO

12-across – Stay in control hosting mother : REMAIN

13-across – Ford save part of vehicle : CROSSBAR

16-across – As nice as pie about Romeo : ARSENIC

19-across – Vehicle touring Italy endlessly getting stuck : STALLED

22-across – 16 stuck away savings : CUTBACKS

25-across – Approaches in game turned around : RUNUPS

27-across – Ice cream with the last piece of Christmas cake : SCONE

28-across – Battle in North American city centre following return of Trump : TRAFALGAR

29-across – Boundaries from 11 : FOURS

30-across – Endless secrets and lies condemned City : LEICESTER

1-down – … is one description of this grid : SQUARE

2-down – Poor Nick Beal oddly phased out : BADSHAPE

3-down – Lime and dash of Drambuie in Between The Sheets : LINDEN

4-down – Yankee bet losing a mint? : PERFECT

5-down – Mum’s keeping mum in solicitors : MADAMS

6-down – Italian speciality sandwiches A1 : PIAZZA

11-down – Ferret loves tucking into rabbit skin : ROOT

14-down – Halle Berry essentially turned up making a bit of noise : BEL

15-down – Revolutionary way to inject drug : RED

16-down – The basics of kebab cooking : ABC

17-down – Regular TV series : SET

18-down – Creep taking the p___ out of Nick : INCH

20-down – Wingers from Liverpool ultimately take seconds to get dispossessed : LANDLESS

21-down – Header from Rooney inspired by United great one assumes : USURPER

23-down – 1 relative briefly holding licence to kill : UNCOOL

24-down – Chuck Berry at last embraces Alfa Romeo’s digital system : BINARY

25-down – F1 supporting engineers to recover? : REFACE

26-down – France’s No.1 seed finally is set down : PLACED

1-across – Agrees Bill should have trousers : ACCORDS

5-across – Pot: certain thing ineffectual people rejected : STEWPAN

10-across – Survey part of cricket match involving clubs : ONCE

11-across – When one may have studied fish tail? : SCHOOLTERM

12-across – Hard exercising with jacket half on : CARDIO

13-across – Confused Dane cornered by Claudius? There’s the rubbing : KNEADING

14-across – Touch thorax,gathering temperature for allergy treatment : PATCHTEST

16-across – Fruit the writer tucked into now and later,after cooking : WATER

17-across – See 16 : MELON

19-across – Augment with bling,especially in a bracelet : BESPANGLE

23-across – Row after Irish festival gets more spirited : FEISTIER

24-across – Capital city,extravagant? Mostly sleeping : OTTAWA

26-across – Harness oil at sea for the most part : LIONSSHARE

27-across – See 10 : OVER

28-across – Orchestra finally directs adopting C scales : ASCENDS

29-across – Dutch city,ancient city,realistic about introduction of tourism : UTRECHT

2-down – Mug repeatedly cheers choral work : CANTATA

3-down – Nymph appearing in promotional material for quarry? : OREAD

4-down – Daughter is left to fool around in books : DISPORT

6-down – Garden implement right in drier surroundings : TROWEL

7-down – Retiring comedian,stressed about source of humour : WITHDRAWN

8-down – Called in a group of soldiers to plan : ARRANGE

9-down – Brandish weapon with energy over one of a theatrical disposition? : SHAKESPEAREAN

15-down – One young guy coming in to copy enamelwork : CLOISONNE

18-down – Assistance in bringing up English children at first in troubled times : EMETICS

20-down – Forecast for aircraft to sequester carbon : PROJECT

21-down – Unsophisticated lust about anything vulgar : LOWTECH

22-down – Was dismissive of chap’s second edition : HISSED

25-down – Figurative expression: very high note’s brought about end of mirror : TROPE

7-across – Goods transporter in Basingstoke – every now and then he pops out : SHOPPING

9-across – See 7 : BASKET

10-across – A singer’s up to something dodgy : ATIT

11-across – Picasso had one hot,tense,fleeting encounter with secretary at the outset : PAINTBRUSH

12-across – Epidemic and surgeon’s focus turns to a little quinine tablet : PLAQUE

14-across – Dock where tide originally has King Canute unsettled : TRUNCATE

15-across – Bible’s clue to get over sin : REVISED

17-across – See 15 : VERSION

20-across – Perhaps jumbo’s assuming animal sanctuary is somewhere near Mayfair? : PARKLANE

22-across – Drunk drilling on the outside hides power tool : TODGER

23-across – Perfect copy with small shed to keep computer : IMMACULATE

24-across – Spouse briefly taking in a stray : WAIF

25-across – Hear Clinique supply round gold dish : QUICHE

26-across – See 25 : LORRAINE

1-down – <span>European wine lake – </span><i>Independent</i><span> starts story with good intentions</span> : WHITELIE

2-down – Notice jam setting : SPOT

3-down – Son,2 having cut top off a piece of cake : SIMPLE

4-down – Subtle satire occasionally stops oppression : ABSTRUSE

5-down – Southern racist moving back to front through dictionary to arrive at ‘rejected’ : OSTRACISED

6-down – Small county with unlimited accommodation : BEDSIT

8-down – Enter squad and fully explain : GOINTO

13-down – 25 – 31 days and finally work is replacing the man’s order : QUICKMARCH

16-down – <span>Certain </span><i>Times</i><span> is holding evidence of censorship?</span> : ERASURES

18-down – Ready to follow plot that is found in old books : OBEDIENT

19-down – See 8 : DETAIL

21-down – Mail say Labour’s half-cut member is leading : ARMOUR

22-down – What’s up with Conservative housing proposition? : THEORY

24-down – River Don : WEAR

8-across – Prime number heard fighting with indefinite number : FOREWARN

9-across – Clamour from attention seeker,case of someone beyond redemption,ultimately : NOISE

10-across – Fellah in deer? Not entirely! : HIND

11-across – Our etching,though sketchy,improving : RETOUCHING

12-across – Stuff lying around flat interminably,one hasn’t quite grown up : KIDULT

14-across – Surrender,wobbling one run short of century,ending on ninety-nine : RENOUNCE

15-across – See 24 Across : CANDLES

17-across – Procedure on defining both possibilities for batter? : ROUTINE

20-across – Sin ends in tragedy,prophetic in month of Aquarius,say – the Water Carrier? : JERRYCAN

22-across – Name associated with lectures announced award : WREATH

23-across – Cold Scottish island toured by a dog expert : AFICIONADO

24-across – Cryptic clues for gags with sketch : FOUR

25-across – See 22 Down : FIRST

26-across – Liquid starter from waitress,so doubled up,put in sketch? : TWOSOUPS

1-down – Wee collected by clinician north of a Caribbean country : DOMINICA

2-down – Sketch very average,rubbish : DEAD

3-down – See 2 : PARROT

4-down – Base 17 yet to be delivered? : INUTERO

5-down – Popular as might be spanking bottom,oh I say? Nudge,nudge,wink,wink! : INNUENDO

6-down – Use toilet humour at first comedically in basic sketch? : SILHOUETTE

7-down – Fox News in charge,toxic in the extreme : FENNEC

13-down – Highlight when still a teenager? : UNDERSCORE

16-down – Coming or going round top of creek – as salmon might be? : ENCROUTE

18-down – Possible call from male in rush,on getting up : NOTRUMPS

19-down – Find intimate in book without cover : UNEARTH

21-down – Heading for Exmoor,oxygen-fuelled females take a hike : EFFOFF

22-down – Western entertainer gets a grip of issue,something wooden in sketch? : WHOSON

24-down – Sweet clown : FOOL