No 14774, Wednesday 22 Apr 2026, Vidwan

Solution to 17A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Open for anyone to answer, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

7   Creature regularly seen in bazaar, very ominous on the outside (8) AARDVARK {bAzAaR}{D{V}ARK}

9   Counter hijab, a customary covering (6) ABACUS [T]

10 Rush of animal migration, at the outset (4) ZOOM {ZOO}{Mi...n} Animal/Zoo?

11 You kiss and love exuberantly, needing to show attachment to wife in excessive manner (10) UXORIOUSLY {U}{X}{O}{RIOtoUSLY}

12 Fairly huge waves carrying small number (6) ENOUGH {E{NO}UGH*}

14 Get lease negotiated for heirs (8) LEGATEES*

15 Straight one in opposite squad, near slips (4-3-6) FAIR-AND-SQUARE {FA{1}R}{SQUAD+NEAR}* Opposite/far?

17 It may be revealed by a top division (8) ?L?A?A?E ()

19 No! Not pleasant to talk about pain reliever (3,3) ICE BAG {nICE}{GAB<=}

21 Fast food cooked by baker, nuts on slice of bread (5,5) DONER KEBAB {DONE}{BAKER*}{Br..d}

22 Hostel day or month (4) DORM {D}{OR}{M}

23 Look around South America for an oil seed (6) SESAME {SE{S}{AM}E}

24 Tiny tree representing the afterlife (8) ETERNITY*

DOWN

1   Monkey's born with a gift (6) BABOON {B}{A}{BOON}

2   American lady tailed the First Gentleman (4) ADAM {A}{DAM}

3   Indian bureaucrats going to Hong Kong with a Russian lady (8) BABUSHKA {BABUS}{HK}{A}

4   Medieval Chinese dynasty installing a King's assembly (6) MAKING {M{A}{K}ING}

5   Hands-on flight support at all levels (10) BALUSTRADE [CD]

6   Bang on target, oppressor controlled south-eastern Europe (5,3) BULLS EYE {BULL{SE}Y}{E}

8   Intelligent king gained back large advantage (13) KNOWLEDGEABLE {K}{WON<=}{L}{EDGE}ABLE Able from?

13 I am unclear about legislature with single chamber (10) UNICAMERAL*

15 Fellow - a cold at heart recluse, one who hunts with a bird (8) FALCONER {F}{A}{L{C}ONER}

16 Endlessly question holy books expressing one's petty complaints (8) QUIBBLES {QUIz}{BiBLES}

18 Bank letter mentions a piece of jewellery (6) ANKLET [T]

20 Munched over long time to freshen up (6) AERATE {A{ERA}TE}

22 Dead English buried in Scottish city mound (4) DUNE DUNdeE

Reference List

Very = V, Kiss = X, No = N, Day = D, Month = M, South = S, America = AM, Born = B, American = A, Lady = DAM, Indian bureaucrats = BABUS, King = K, Europe = E, Large = L, Fellow = F, Cold = C, Dead = D, English = E

No 14773, Tuesday 21 Apr 2026, Pixie Dust

Solution to 19D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Open for anyone to answer, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Old cake chewed several times in a nursery rhyme! (4-1-6-3) COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO {OLD+CAKE}* [Letter Bank]

Cock a doodle doo!
My dame has lost her shoe,
My master's lost his fiddling stick
And knows not what to do.

10 Phantom and beloved leader of Freljord cycling (5) UMBRA (-bra)UM(+bra)BRA

11 Warrant for a soldier's slogan? (6,3) BATTLE CRY [C&DD] 

12 It's absurd, cheat is stealing Knight's tape (5-2) STICK ON {ITS*}{C{K}ON}

13 Oafs fly? Suspect dismissals (7) LAYOFFS*

14 An adult insect's study of mind (5) IMAGO [DD]

16 Poor wife is hot and sickly (9) UNHEALTHY UN(-w+h)HEALTHY

19 Cryptically could I set something most murky? (9) CLOUDIEST*

20 Brand mounted without hype in the end (5) SCALD SCALeD

22 Yes! Sen ceased to smuggle substance (7) ESSENCE [T]

25 Love poem with English guide (7) OVERSEE {O}{VERSE}{E}

27 Mariner (colony resident) uncomfortable at first with return of a large spider (9) TARANTULA {TAR}{ANT}{Un...e} and {A}{L}<={

28 Contesting extremely vapoury gin cocktail (5) VYING {Va...rY}{GIN*}

29 Pi loves sex and dangerous stuff? (4,10) HIGH EXPLOSIVES {PI+LOVES+SEX}* [RA]

DOWN

2   Old boy Harry got bail and sponsorship (9) OBBLIGATO {O}{B}{GOT+BAIL}*

3   From the beginning King never appreciated Chief Kattappa's talent (5) KNACK Acrostic 

4   Bond's drone we hear is in the grips of an implant (9) DEBENTURE {DE{(~bee)BE}NTURE}

5   Outcast weasel regularly ignored characters in a number system (5) OCTAL {OutCasT+weAseL}

6   Spooner expresses surprise and lingers in lounges! (9) LOLLYGAGS (golly lags to lollygags)

7   In recess resisted beverage (5) DECAF<=

8   Heard about Indian Classical Dance's epic journey (7) ODYSSEY (~odissi)

9   Naughty smile describing basically unpalatable food (6) MUESLI {M{Un...e}SLI*}

15 Fiat, Quebec Nani drove essentially in reverse (9) ORDINANCE [T<=]

17 Controversial party game? (3,6) HOT POTATO [DD] 

18 Camouflaged terrapins come to light (9) TRANSPIRE*

19 Caught a shark, a zooming beast (7) C?E?T?H (Addendum - CHEETAH (~cheater) - See comments)

21 Discover medical practitioner on line (6) DREDGE {DR}{EDGE}

23 Superb! Iago appearing in every other shoot (5) SPRIG {SuPeRb+IaGo}

24 Prepare one-liner supporting establishment at first (5) EQUIP {QUIP}<=>{Es...t}

26 To some extent clergymen voice author's concluding words (5) ENVOI [T]

Reference List

Knight = K, Wife = W, Hot = H, English = E, Large = L, Old = O, Boy = B