Daily Answers

1-across – In valley, Ezekiel and others pray, continue : DOTELL

4-across – Sticky end delivered : STUBBORN

9-across – Gasp! A cunning plan! : WHEEZE

10-across – Where, surprisingly, I find song with three words : HEREWEGO

12-across – Primarily: lounge, or lie lazily : LOLL

13-across – With head oddly empty, bear reflected in wood, spluttering ‘Huzzah!’ : WHOOPDEDOO

15-across – Play where that carpet’s frayed; sofa’s out of bounds : ACTTHEPARTOF

18-across – A Catholic grandee, severest for the most part in liturgy, say : ACTOFWORSHIP

21-across – Strident Australian on radio: where to buy BBQs? : KOOKABURRA

22-across – Implausible… but fine : THIN

24-across – Man’s environment is as part of Earth; is running out of time : IRISHSEA

25-across – Tucking into Bavarian lager, a couple of Germans become louder : BIGGER

26-across – Romance involving Friends character, most obscene : GROSSEST

27-across – Tone’s set by these two chapters on self-destruction : CCLEFS

1-down – Sorry, charge is something applied to your phone : DOWNLOAD

2-down – British left occupies gutted hotel: major damage to London : THEBLITZ

3-down – Act with inadequate zeal? : LAZE

5-down – Novel and its library readers? : THEBORROWERS

6-down – Committee goes after money; it’s where cuts will be made : BREADBOARD

7-down – Missing Latin lover at party, go too far : OVERDO

8-down – Once liberal, now almost completely reactionary? : NEOCON

11-down – Film and its originators? : THEPRODUCERS

14-down – Again and again, penniless bloke arrives at square dances : CHACHACHAS

16-down – Not just any Tory leader in court : THEHAGUE

17-down – Italian renounced fussy puritanism, being hot under the collar : UPINARMS

19-down – With fleece surrounding one, being drawn down by gravity? : SKIING

20-down – Tenor misses opening of Götterdämmerung, a dotty little thing : DOMINO

23-down – Revealed in indiscreet circle : DISC

1-across – Become agitated and doubtful hearing tall tale : GETALLINALATHER

9-across – Aintree’s frisky one needs to practice : TRAINEE

10-across – Dust on a relaid floor : ASTOUND

11-across – Within earshot, hides advances : NEARS

12-across – Mock speaker’s error? The jerk! : SYNTHETIC

13-across – Piled it on, flamboyantly vociferated without uncertainty : OVERACTED

15-across – HMRC inspection valued ‘gift’ with regular losses : AUDIT

16-across – Exotic route off the beaten track : OUTRE

18-across – Fellow with effigies going around? : GUYFAWKES

20-across – Battle cry: ‘Finally, We Stand Justified’ : WARRANTED

23-across – Saunters endlessly to find ugly dwarf : TROLL

24-across – Anxiety? One isn’t flustered : TENSION

25-across – A maiden bursts into ‘Nancy’s Farewell’ : ADEMAIN

26-across – Socialist pallid and glum seeing display of patriotism : REDWHITEANDBLUE

1-down – Find trouble, as you do, in a jacuzzi : GETINTOHOTWATER

2-down – Earl Grey, say, caught stripped naked, revealing a bun : TEACAKE

3-down – Painting captures promontory : LANDSCAPE

4-down – Fancies being in Mid-East : IDEAS

5-down – Something to plan for in any diary, a break : ARAINYDAY

6-down – A long letter : AITCH

7-down – Worried relative’s energy caught in high definition : HAUNTED

8-down – Quiet countries EEC led astray : REDUCETOSILENCE

14-down – Drunk to make garment ‘intimate’ : TIGHTKNIT

15-down – African people’s leaders overcoming hatred, one twisted regime : APARTHEID

17-down – Firm keeping personnel in position of power : THRONED

19-down – Pedantic king immediately oversees everything : KNOWALL

21-down – Essentially Anabaptist: moral, insular, seclusionist herd? : AMISH

22-down – Rada cast without lead in Macbeth : DRAMA

1-across – ‘Don’t get so excited’? I’m astonished and illuminated! : COOLIT

4-across – Break-fast time? : EASTER

9-across – DCI endlessly wedded to poetical writing: Morse is a good example : CODE

10-across – Insufficient funds to obtain biscuits : SHORTBREAD

11-across – Disrespectfully, the Queen’s on the side of a road leading to a windswept village : LIZARD

12-across – Miracle cure: get practically starkers, caked in dirt : SNAKEOIL

13-across – Spicy snacks go with Italian lager : PEPPERONI

15-across – Goitre has no appeal: it’s a queasy sight : GORE

16-across – Scammers, pests and menaces, primarily : SPAM

17-across – I’d like to sleep easy after a massage : YESPLEASE

21-across – French can add butter to both sides of ‘pain’ : BASTILLE

22-across – ‘Vigorously resist habits’ – one who has them : SISTER

24-across – With time to spare, foolishly romanticise a far-off place : MICRONESIA

25-across – White lie, mostly tall story ultimately : LILY

26-across – The aged are welcomed into German band : GARTER

27-across – Rail is missing from banister : BANTER

1-down – Sweet treat, cold, with superior casing : CHOCICE

2-down – Toothsome Ganymede, essentially Greek character : OMEGA

3-down – One of us overheard where vitamin C can be found : INSIDER

5-down – 19 martial arts are on the rise? Not entirely : ASTRAL

6-down – Company, they say, with problem, so it’s said: Freeman Hardy Willis, say : THREESOME

7-down – Twig taken from trees all Gipsies regularly ignored : REALISE

8-down – Rhyme, but not reason? : NONSENSEVERSE

14-down – One who you hope leaves their coat in your home : PLASTERER

16-down – Embarrassing when ghastly performer appears in chorus : SHAMING

18-down – Sauce added principally into Italian food? : PASSATA

19-down – Sell, rat out: characteristic of The Sun, etc : STELLAR

20-down – Quietly pounce and land in water : PLUNGE

23-down – At the outset, straining posterior muscle produces an amusing noise : SPLAT

1-across – Loses hope as spa dries. : DESPAIRS

5-across – Partially risk a terrible injury on the ice. : SKATER

9-across – Endless confused action for raccoon. : COATI

10-across – E-learning astray, by and large. : INGENERAL

12-across – E.g. Best foot forward, given on dismissal. : MARCHINGORDERS

13-across – Accomplish easily, and dispense with the pre-match routine : TOSSOFF

15-across – Gate man verifies one’s identity. : NAMETAG

17-across – Opening position heard to be vigilant : ENGARDE

19-across – Roughen no cares. : COARSEN

21-across – Telephone meeting to discuss pear name? : CONFERENCECALL

24-across – Terrorise madly a noisy reveller. : ROISTERER

25-across – Terminate island dependency: that’s self-evident. : AXIOM

26-across – Pass by eastern failing. : ELAPSE

27-across – Rare occurrence of a depressed satellite. : BLUEMOON

1-down – Adorn a device for measuring up to 11 yards? : DECAMETRE

2-down – Step one in celestial body. : STAIR

3-down – Sounds like the ideal accompaniment to a sneeze. : ATISHOO

4-down – Referring to or concerning a period of brutal oppression. : REIGNOFTERROR

6-down – Lacking dominion in part. Not in this realm. : KINGDOM

7-down – Bitter charges for acidic salts. : TARTRATES

8-down – Depend on it, only without me. : RELY

11-down – Nerve centre for land management. : GROUNDCONTROL

14-down – Foreign miss by design or inadvertently. : SIGNORINA

16-down – Convenience for adult males. : GENTLEMEN

18-down – Disproves arbiter set up around university. : REFUTES

20-down – Mean to state how old one is. : AVERAGE

22-down – Friend to a damaged imago. : AMIGO

23-down – Daughter leaves new wife for cheese. : BRIE

1-across – Oppose matter, given time by court : COUNTERACT

6-across – Gush, giving up time to offer encouragement : SPUR

9-across – Swift in air : EXPRESS

10-across – Perfect, not loud and unruly : LAWLESS

12-across – In India cricket’s turned around : CIRCA

13-across – Happy environment or sad? : UPSETTING

14-across – Party politician, with nothing certain, showing unease : DISCOMPOSURE

18-across – Reformed feudal land so abruptly : ALLOFASUDDEN

21-across – Negative eccentric ran cult active at night : NOCTURNAL

23-across – Disadvantage that’s hidden in contract : CATCH

24-across – Greatest king in line grows old and decrepit finally : LARGEST

25-across – Slow to follow one, very cut off : ISOLATE

26-across – Force in peculiar myth : ARMY

27-across – Ragged number outside commercial pub : THREADBARE

1-down – Firm before receiving constant pressure : COERCE

2-down – Doubtful expression beginning to perplex and anger judge : UMPIRE

3-down – Might a cut feel wrong in opera? : THEMAGICFLUTE

4-down – Embittered, dry up after referring to funds : RESOURCES

5-down – Pass on tips from trainers for young players : COLTS

7-down – Rice soup not normally costly : PRECIOUS

8-down – Gave up being philosophical : RESIGNED

11-down – Humorist, refined, entertaining a hundred, with endless heart, all together : WITHONEACCORD

15-down – Created row, grabbing auntie’s last cake : MADELEINE

16-down – Tree I yearn to climb in Massachusetts area : MAGNOLIA

17-down – Pick second item of clothing in range, not first : PLECTRUM

19-down – Levels achieved by son with skill raised cheers : STRATA

20-down – Steal hearts in match against Spain : THIEVE

22-down – Stirring chant, of course : NATCH