| Across | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | BRAISE | |
| Sprig of basil to enhance stew? (6) | (B)ASIL + RAISE | |
| 4 | PING-PONG | |
| Pressure in fast event on gamer’s first game (4-4) | P + IN + GP + ON + (G)AMER | |
| 9 | SLIVERS | |
| Small pieces of offal, thin slices (7) | S + LIVERS | |
| 11 | PANICKY | |
| Frightened one in particular (7) | AN inside PICKY | |
| 12 | REICH | |
| Energy generated in productive German state (5) | E inside RICH | |
| 13 | ABACUSES | |
| A defender, cut down, consumes tablets (8) | A + (BAC)K + USES | |
| 14 | DISCREDITS | |
| Recording engineer ultimately makes changes to slurs (10) | DISC + ENGINEE(R) + EDITS | |
| 16 | AT IT | |
| A small flyer is keeping busy (2,2) | A + TIT | |
| 19 | STOP | |
| Series of tests to perform check (4) | testS TO Perform | |
| 20 | BLOCK PLANE | |
| Secure map in empty bottle with carpenter’s tool? (5,5) | (LOCK + PLAN) inside B(ottl)E | |
| 22 | ATOM BOMB | |
| Explosive gathering retreated inside a mausoleum (4,4) | MOB reversed inside (A + TOMB) | |
| 23 | TOPIC | |
| Detective in hospital bed recalled question (5) | PI inside (COT reversed) | |
| 26 | LOOPING | |
| Head of old nail, hammered into a piece of wood, is turning around (7) | [(O)LD + PIN] inside LOG | |
| 27 | EPISTLE | |
| Letter “R” missing from anagram of reptiles (7) | Anagram of REPTILES minus R | |
| 28 | MINISTRY | |
| Country runners try following cars (8) | TRY after MINIS | |
| 29 | FELONY | |
| Downgraded charge only affected serious crime? (6) | (FE)E + anagram of ONLY | |
| Down | Answers and Clues | Explanations |
| 1 | BESTRIDES | |
| Gets on leading fairground entertainment (9) | BEST + RIDES | |
| 2 | ALIBI | |
| A politician, I suspect, doesn’t have one (5) | A + LIB + I | |
| 3 | SHEPHERD | |
| Lock-up containing pusher giving up US marshal (8) | SHED outside (PUSHER minus US) | |
| 5 | IMPRACTICABLE | |
| Useless right in effect, one on line (13) | (R inside IMPACT) + I + CABLE | |
| 6 | GENIUS | |
| Mastermind, one acknowledged in class (6) | I inside GENUS | |
| 7 | ORCHESTRA | |
| The Corrs, a rocky music group (9) | Anagram of THE CORRS A | |
| 8 | GUYS | |
| Makes fun of people generally (4) | Double Definition | |
| 10 | SCANDALMONGER | |
| Investigate doddery old German, one spreading dirt (13) | SCAN + anagram of OLD GERMAN | |
| 15 | SHOUT DOWN | |
| “Silence! Silence! Get the better of gutless warden”? (5,4) | SH + OUTDO + W(arde)N | |
| 17 | TREACHERY | |
| Disloyalty in connection with pain suffered in struggle (9) | (RE + ACHE) in TRY | |
| 18 | SPITFIRE | |
| Fury and ill-feeling about source of deal, perhaps (8) | SPITE outside FIR | |
| 21 | EMAILS | |
| Correspondence implicated ladies’ man with missing DNA (6) | Anagram of LADIES MAN minus DNA | |
| 24 | POTTO | |
| Clothing passed up to a slow African climber (5) | TOP reversed + TO | |
| 25 | SLUM | |
| Depressed area’s never-ending depression? (4) | (SLUM)P |
