DAILY BRAIN TEASERS

Across

1 Part of old ensemble having drink before tango (7)

5 With bar next to major road, carbon leads to tirade (7) 9 Way son shrinks gets experts recommending changes? (7,8) 10 Opening time? (4)

11 Frost on icebox preserves fizz (5)

12 Having nothing on, relative in strip running round room (4) 15 Snag that actors can see behind the scenes? (7)

16 Kind of shop good garden centre’s missing (7)

17 Sat simmering after explosive verbosity (7) 19 Player’s rush to get beer? (3,4) 21 We hear some animals miss making mischief (4)

22 Tray’s warped, being in wood? (5)

23 Navigator won’t get one cook up (4)

26 Posed around in Lord’s about time food gets knocked back – 25 would call this home (5,10) 27 Idea to adapt track and slowly fade out (3,4) 28 Expect witness to follow warning (7)

Down

1 After changing sides, tenor and soprano taking openings and refrains (7)

2 Sneaky, as most female athletes are essentially? (15) 3 Vegetable naval base raised (4) 4 Struts, oddly missing foot‑warmer – it makes you clump (7)

5 Parking close, or near (7) 6 Calm group of students in uniform? On the contrary (4)

7 They help people relax – also purr, conceivably, as a result (7,8)

8 Porridge that’s like a bit of trifle, orally (7)

13 Passage where there’s a lot of barging (5)

14 Took in ruins, admitting yen to see capital (5)

17 Artist’s inspiration is sleeping, apparently stupefied (7) 18 Dead‑end drama (7) 19 Insect, sort of flea, one’s seen in a book (7)

20 Blubber over half of visitors arriving after one is weary (7)

24 Cook using pot makes one worry (4)

25 Powerful man buried in crypt’s a Romanov (4)