Daily Answers

8-across – Male detective’s kind of party : COCKTAIL

9-across – Preface perhaps key : OPENER

10-across – Degree of warmth attending a kind of party : TOGA

11-across – Little rabble in party : BABYSHOWER

12-across – Party where rubbish bags left : HOOLEY

14-across – Piece behind bar broken by drunk, finally – good shot! : MARKSMAN

15-across – Small hamper for kind of party : SLUMBER

17-across – Party disrobing heir in spoilt child : CEILIDH

20-across – Reflection of love child, say – as whoopee made? : GERONIMO

22-across – Like dripping taps, odd bits cast in silver : GREASY

23-across – Foreign senator keeps party leader in opposition very close : ATONESDOOR

24-across – Party clobber : BASH

25-across – Diva’s first private kind of party : DINNER

26-across – Two kinds of party drink : GREENTEA

1-down – Driver second if not invested in hard work : MOTOROIL

2-down – One bird or more soaring? : SKUA

3-down – Bottle shown by male driver? : CARBOY

4-down – State where a woman ruined by gin after a party : ALABAMA

5-down – Keep party dish out : CONSERVE

6-down – Miss show that is holding auction : DEMOISELLE

7-down – Classes where dope given time : GENERA

13-down – Sending up light starter in grapefruit, pickled onion on top! : LAMPOONING

16-down – Semi-intoxicated, for example, bedding Republican delegate : EMISSARY

18-down – Fancy dress with it, a failure : DISASTER

19-down – Back of ghetto toured by buddy, I don’t like that part of town : BOROUGH

21-down – Call for help when discovered with a tin, rattled about for collection : ENTAIL

22-down – Kind of party in office after charitable event set up : GARDEN

24-down – Launch backhander : BUNG

1-across – Go to visit fox? Abandon this fantasy! : COMEDOWNTOEARTH

9-across – Clear O for what hopes to attract many Xs : MANIFESTO

10-across – Legal to be executed? That’s dreadful : AWFUL

11-across – Woman’s clothing said to be shaggy : HIRSUTE

12-across – Seaside clown, and maybe why his theatre is closed : PIERROT

13-across – Concerning, drinking unknown whiskey : RYE

14-across – In Franglais, October is wet a little : MOISTEN

17-across – More demanding guide to go round our ships : STERNER

19-across – Pop these in a pot and rudely eat lots : TEABAGS

22-across – Cleaning seat, start to cheer City : HIPBATH

24-across – Vegetable repeats in the stomach : PEA

25-across – Cheese is extravagant in one of the Costas : RICOTTA

26-across – Do this on the donkey or duck : PINTAIL

28-across – Spanish man’s first to leave card game : OMBRE

29-across – In panic, if retired, shaking : TERRIFIED

30-across – A cryptic clue for the Y in ‘Independence Day’ : THEFOURTHOFJULY

1-down – Chose more tomato salad that had nasty consequences for one : CAMEHOMETOROOST

2-down – Staff alternative country house : MANOR

3-down – Flat due for renovation but a failure to do it : DEFAULT

4-down – A film of our civilisation? : WESTERN

5-down – Actors on tour store up plays : TROUPES

6-down – Stand before entrance barrier needing to be raised : ETAGERE

7-down – Judge has purpose in period for public consultations : REFERENDA

8-down – School break in sum– ? : HALFTERMHOLIDAY

15-down – Easily provoked, slice a rib in pieces : IRASCIBLE

16-down – The Origin of : EGG

18-down – Japanese fish: the answer is initially obvious : TAI

20-down – Are a month old? This is a century old : ARTDECO

21-down – Splash drops over small pitch : SPATTER

22-down – Two heights enclose a harbour of very little value once : HAPORTH

23-down – Bishop quietly taking on brief quarrel : PONTIFF

27-down – Fail to wear a uniform and I’ll see you : ADIEU

1-across – Fish sandwiches Frenchman scoffing heading for Dieppe – worker at Versailles, perhaps? : GARDENER

6-across – Fish sandwiches geezer rejected – for the hard stuff! : ENAMEL

9-across – Raw beef sandwiches the lot of them! : CALLOW

10-across – Fish sandwiches brilliant, a hundred bagged in record of US expenditure : COSTCARD

11-across – Turkey sandwiches interchanged with starter of tofu, complaining under one’s breath : MUTTERING

13-across – Cheese sandwiches new for pickler : BRINE

15-across – Lacklustre turkey sandwiches left, loathsome in the extreme : DULLED

17-across – Chicken sandwiches in deli glimpsed, first of all, in small device : WIDGET

19-across – Tender sausage sandwiches put in container : DOTING

20-across – Most delicious egg sandwiches dry when turned over : NICEST

22-across – Thin fish sandwiches no good : RANGY

24-across – Bacon sandwiches upright on nipples : PAPILLARY

27-across – Beef sandwiches ending in bin, brown – in some state : MONTANAN

28-across – Chicken sandwiches program – result! : HAPPEN

30-across – Grind beef sandwiches down, initially : POWDER

31-across – Tiny ham sandwiches demolished on vacation, nothing brought back : PIDDLING

2-down – Lid off epic cooker : AGA

3-down – Fifty pocketed in masterful pots : DELFT

4-down – Information about gold hard to come by in US city : NEWORLEANS

5-down – Blood banks popular for tragedian : RACINE

6-down – Sandwiches primarily in snack – way to go! : EAST

7-down – Care taken with rough criminal, egregious scamp : ARCHROGUE

8-down – US actor somewhat sullen, or fed up : EFRON

12-down – Unopened store I had opened : UNDID

14-down – At a lower level, dark in one ditch : DIMINISHED

16-down – Was an arsonist I confined to school charged? : LITIGATED

18-down – Veggie given to Dick if a tyrant is heard? : TATER

21-down – Better clothes soldier sent over for the rest : CATNAP

23-down – A journey repeated plenty of times : AGOGO

25-down – Part of shirt seen in mirror, two lines either side : LAPEL

26-down – The wrong way round, Queen on pound note : ONER

29-down – ‘Time’ as ‘Tim’ turned up? : EON

1-across – Belittle fine hair, reportedly grizzled : DOWNGRADE

6-across – Liberal dons prosper and flourish : BLOOM

9-across – Vessel of canoers that oddly disappeared : AORTA

10-across – Vacuity of Victor, annoying in spades : VAPIDNESS

11-across – Radical female sib enthralled by French painter : LEFTWINGER

12-across – Bones huge as boomerangs : OSSA

14-across – Argue with Republican point of view : WRANGLE

15-across – Virile chap, explosive and well practised : STUDIED

17-across – President pursued by fat lover : ABELARD

19-across – United relegated from league after midfielder’s first international benefit : MILEAGE

20-across – Heartily necking beer and cabbage : KALE

22-across – Fed up of bad serfs running amok : BRASSEDOFF

25-across – Secrets of earl and girl behind boozer : ESOTERICA

26-across – Limited name-dropping is entertaining : SCANT

27-across – Fulfil desire to be master : DOYEN

28-across – New Englander in Danish territory : GREENLAND

1-down – Slowly speak of attraction, and pull at last : DRAWL

2-down – Computer model of firearm we designed : WIREFRAME

3-down – Scot sawing a leg off : GLASWEGIAN

4-down – Start to adjust ball bearing very early : ADVANCE

5-down – Completely timeless vamp is supremely powerful woman : EMPRESS

6-down – Asked criminal to cover me, heading off : BADE

7-down – Complies with order, knocking stuffing out of yobs : OBEYS

8-down – Badly manage squeamish and lethargic nurses : MISHANDLE

13-down – Stuffed admiral in hold : FULLNELSON

14-down – Timid setters have to entertain a couple of kings : WEAKKNEED

16-down – Lover wearing scent picked up at counter : INAMORATA

18-down – Sweetie left in bottle : DARLING

19-down – Recalling one’s bet is bad move : MISTAKE

21-down – Can probably empty potty : LOOPY

23-down – Thick journalist is doomed : FATED

24-down – Observed articulate contretemps : SEEN

8-across – President in the immediate future blocked by the gods : PANTHEON

9-across – I’m into band performer backing heavy metal : OSMIUM

10-across – Ancient city hospital getting behind cricketer : BATH

11-across – Keen on tirade about the French being prejudiced : INTOLERANT

12-across – Podcast’s out a fraction : FOURTH

14-across – Vehicles circling old cathedral city in a rough manner : COARSELY

15-across – Rascal in rude vein making bend : INCURVE

17-across – One’s run into stubborn guy offering traditional Christmas festivities : MISRULE

20-across – Footwear support: repositioned toes here? : SHOETREE

22-across – Ancient governor retaining corner in fine weather : SHOGUN

23-across – Well-turned-out – obvious personal statement about actual dressing : IMMACULATE

24-across – Question about energy in dairy product : WHEY

25-across – Flower pot not finished by our group : CROCUS

26-across – Success for woman also curtailed till now : HITHERTO

1-down – French biscuit? French politician consuming one with doughnut separately : MACAROON

2-down – Diet challenging to some extent? Eat away : ETCH

3-down – Enjoy hard currency, not against piling it up : RELISH

4-down – Ready to be displayed, given traditional punishment? Not quite : INSTOCK

5-down – This vegetable supplies make-up material, mostly wild : KOHLRABI

6-down – One is Mr Opera, when working? : IMPRESARIO

7-down – Regret accommodating two navies on large or small stretch of water : RUNNEL

13-down – Corps in the armour failing extended military training : ROUTEMARCH

16-down – See one tour is arranged for top soloists : VIRTUOSI

18-down – Honoured recently after burying waste? : LAUREATE

19-down – A lot of resistance to harem pants : TERAOHM

21-down – Buzzing with rising passion, they respond sharply when struck : HUMERI

22-down – Elegant articles taken from bar near midnight? : SVELTE

24-down – Sharpen question having European instead of American : WHET