The Sunday Crossword No 3131, Sunday 03 Jan 2021

ACROSS

1   Cake Rubens represented having risen badly, current missing in heaters (6,7) BUNSEN BURNERS {BUN}{RUBENS*}{RiSEN*}

8   Primarily, clever lyrist inhabiting Olympus? (4) CLIO Acrostic Semi&lit

9   Time, perhaps, for every one old to call about cold (10) PERIODICAL {PER}{1}{O}{DI{C}AL}

10 Queen’s after exotic fruit: that’s increasingly plain (6) UGLIER {UGLI}{ER}

11 Account involving narrative, extremely droll, one tells everyone for starters? (8) ANECDOTE {A{Na...vE}C}{Dr..l}{One}{Te..s}{Ev...nE} Semi&lit

12 Oarsman flailing about in landlocked country (3,6) SAN MARINO {OARSMAN}* over {IN}

14 Christmas in retirement in Spanish kingdom (4) LEON <=

15 Give medicine to those in Brooklyn (4) DOSE [DD]

16 Distressed damsel in Alfa Romeo (6,3)  LADIES MAN {DAMSEL+IN+A}*

20 A Spandau Ballet song, a Joni Mitchell song and a Madonna song (4,4) TRUE BLUE {TRUE}{BLUE}

21 Cry-baby mostly unsettled and grouchy (6) CRABBY {CRY BABy}*

23 Bribes ‘small, insubstantial’: low-value banknotes with one note missing (10) SWEETENERS {S}{WEE}{TENnERS}

24 We're told drawing of the sea ... is ... drawn (4) TIED (~tide)

25 Writer spending energy once in novel, Torch, Belt & Beret (7,6) BERTOLT BRECHT {TORCHBELTBEReT}*

DOWN

1   Express disapproval about Latin grammar: not advisable, initially, somewhere in Italy (7) BOLOGNA {BO{L}O}{Gr...r}{Not}{Ad...e}

2   I complain about old mother-in-law (5) NAOMI {I}{MOAN}<=

3   Beethoven's fifth concerto describing a kind of penguin (7) EMPEROR [DD]

4   A tribesman began to crumple, having been knocked down (7-8) BARGAIN-BASEMENT*

5   Greek island which will lead, they say, to Italian city (6) RHODES (~roads)

6   Everyman’s shown up with drunken English lords and sinners (9) EVILDOERS {I'VE<=}{E+LORDS}*

7   Spare part installed by artisan after losing first four (7) SPARTAN {artiS{PART}AN}

13 One armed with sword (in fiction) and firearm (in reality)! (9) MUSKETEER [DD]

15 A bit of Poldark we bit-torrented in lawless online world (4,3) DARK WEB [T]

17 Tooth seen in bionic bits you’re oddly ignoring (7) INCISOR {bIoNiC+bItS+yOuRe}

18 Relaxing, Bambi? Entirely? Not entirely (7) AMBIENT [T]

19 A little classic board game getting to grips with homicide, in the end? (6) CLUEDO {Cl...c}{LU{h...dE}DO} &lit

22 American shiraz technician bottles (5) AZTEC [T]

Reference List

Current = I, Old = O, Cold = C, Queen = ER, Account = AC, Alfa = A, Energy = E, Latin = L, English = E