| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | DUGITE | |
| Snake grasped it easily at the start (6) | DUG + IT + (E)asily | |
| 4 | MANDATES | |
| Individual determines the age of charges (8) | MAN + DATES | |
| 9 | SKATE | |
| Runner and swimmer (5) | Double Definition | |
| 10 | SPRINKLER | |
| It’s used to water part of green left in care of retired representatives (9) | (RINK + L) inside (REPS reversed) | |
| 11 | BRIOCHE | |
| Zest applied to half of cheese roll (7) | BRIO + (CHE)ese | |
| 12 | PATIENT | |
| Sick person is clear about onset of illness (7) | PATENT outside (I)llness | |
| 13 | SHIP | |
| Send head of security in (4) | (S)ecurity + HIP | |
| 14 | ORNAMENT | |
| Leading light or star not contracted? (8) | OR + NAME + N(o)T | |
| 17 | DECEASED | |
| Expired case requiring editing in legal document (8) | Anagram of CASE inside DEED | |
| 19 | PIER | |
| Early type of spacecraft losing track of one landing site (4) | PIONEER minus ONE | |
| 22 | RISES UP | |
| Ruse is organised by leader of political rebels (5,2) | Anagram of RUSE IS + (P)olitics | |
| 24 | PASTERN | |
| Pressure applied to a hard part of horse�s foot (7) | P + A + STERN | |
| 25 | PROVISION | |
| Something supplied for an imaginative plan (9) | PRO + VISION | |
| 26 | CADET | |
| Trainee made less money primarily in court (5) | MADE minus (M)oney inside CT | |
| 27 | CLEARING | |
| Close call about each evacuation (8) | (CL + RING) outside EA | |
| 28 | SOURCE | |
| Author’s cheekiness apparent in speech (6) | Sounds like SAUCE | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | DISABUSE | |
| Is a coach in middle of ordeal set straight? (8) | (IS + A + BUS) inside or(DE)all | |
| 2 | GRATIFIED | |
| Pleased with $1000 formally approved (9) | G + RATIFIED | |
| 3 | TRENCH | |
| Ditch fish spread over the banks of river (6) | TENCH outside R | |
| 5 | AEROPLANE SPIN | |
| A lean pro messed up, especially in a wrestling manoeuvre (9,4) | Anagram of A LEAN PRO + ESP + IN | |
| 6 | DINETTE | |
| Unruly characters in detention missing out on a place to eat (7) | Anagram of DETENTION minus ON | |
| 7 | TILDE | |
| Diacritical mark left in withdrawn rewrite (5) | L inside (EDIT reversed) | |
| 8 | SURETY | |
| American backed renewed tyre guarantee (6) | US reversed + anagram of TYRE | |
| 10 | SMEAR CAMPAIGN | |
| Confused manager is needled by side’s attack on reputation (5,8) | Anagram of MANGER IS outside CAMP | |
| 15 | TAIL-ENDER | |
| Poor striker thanks one financial institution willing to advance money (4-5) | TA + I + LENDER | |
| 16 | BRUNETTE | |
| Dark web harnessed by cruelly rapacious person (8) | NET inside BRUTE | |
| 18 | CASHIER | |
| Discharge one taking part in search at sea (7) | I inside anagram of SEARCH | |
| 20 | TROPIC | |
| Worldly division, right, included in subject matter (6) | R inside TOPIC | |
| 21 | PSYCHO | |
| Participants in autopsy chose headcase (6) | autoPSY CHOse | |
| 23 | SHORE | |
| Prop is not happy about back from Penrith (5) | SORE outside penrit(H) |
