No 14843, Saturday 11 July 2026, Incognito

ACROSS
1 Esoteric song by model in administrative office (11) SECRETARIAT {SECRET}{ARIA}{T}
9 A positive friend giving shock (5) APPAL {A}{P}{PAL}
10 Guards dispatched in Welsh centres? (9) SENTINELS {SENT}{IN}{wELSh}
11 Gag mum or dad, for example (10) PALINDROME [Definition By Examples]
12 Behind pig-pen, European gets eye problem (4) STYE {STY}{E}
13 Regrets about commencement of law and regulations (5) RULES {RU{Law}ES}
15 Perhaps, IV needn't be conjured up (8) INVENTED*
17 Reduce vehicle slipping back on piece of land (8) SUBTRACT {BUS<}{TRACT}
19 Manufactured solid items for veneration (5) IDOLS*
22 Piece having can rejected by university (4) UNIT {TIN<}<=>{U}
23 Ponder and take away freedom? (10) DELIBERATE {DE-LIBERATE}

26 Stops bucks consuming tangled net around midday (9) STAGNATES {STAGS} around {NET* over dAy}
27 Setter and doctor drink (5) MEDOC {ME}{DOC}

28 Carrying lever, gets in business units (11) ENTERPRISES {PRISE} in {ENTERS}

DOWN
1 Close tightly around top of pistil and part of calyx (5) SEPAL {SE{Pistil}AL}

2 Settler: "Is with queen" (9) COLONISER {COLON}{IS}{ER}
3 Make certain nurse goes around before commencement of evening (6) ENSURE {NURSE*}{Evening}
4 A mythological creature has name... an honorific name (7) AGNOMEN {A}{GNOME}{N}
5 Egyptian goddess and international leader followed by sister (4) ISIS {International}{SIS}
6 A couple of cricket teams, perhaps, getting two ducks (6-3) TWENTY-TWO {22}

7 Weird dream about papa's piano pedal (6) DAMPER {DREAM*} about P

8 Climb 24 haphazardly carrying canine (6) ASCEND {ANDES*} around {C}
14 Processed Beirut lac and oil (9) LUBRICATE*
16 European spider scampers around top of my immaculate skin's outer layer (9) EPIDERMIS {E}{SPIDER*} around {My}{Immaculate}
17 Crush squid (not dead) near second hydrant (6) SQUISH {SQUId}{S}{H}
18 Maker's reactor blown up (7) CREATOR*
20 Draw small sailing boat (6) SKETCH {S}{KETCH}
21 US brig sails around mountainous stretch of California coast (3,3) BIG SUR*

24 Mountain range in South America and Spain (5) ANDES {AND}{ES}

25 Fly injured emigrant in absence of emir (4) GNAT {emiGrANT}*

REFERENCE LIST

Model=T, Positive=P, European=E, University=U, Setter=Me, Doctor=Doc, Queen=ER(Elizabeth Regina), Name=N, Sister=Sis, Papa=P, Canine=C, Dead=D, Second=S, Hydrant=H, Small=S, Spain=ES.

No 14842, Friday 10 Jul 2026, Incognito

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ACROSS

8   Stake wanted to some extent (4) ANTE [HIPS]

9   Odds of 1 is to 1? Not odds... (5) EVENS [C&DD]

10 Temperature in the attic (4) HEAT [T]

11 Now, after last month, starting to exercise in 10 years (6) DECADE {AD}<=>{DEC} and {Ex...e}

12 Burnt cream thrown by Edward (8) CREMATED {CREAM*}{TED}

13 When flying sea egret gets cheap passage (8) STEERAGE*

15 Small rest for golfers at New Scotland Yard for starters (6) TEENSY {TEE}{N}{Sc...d}{Yard}

17 Look, covering a short length... An antelope! (7) GAZELLE{GAZ{ELL}E}

19 Sumatra tour results in sufferings (7) TRAUMAS*

22 Questioning, like royalty (6) ASKING {AS}{KING}

24 One moving in tummy gets protection (8) IMMUNITY {1}{IN+TUMMY}*

26 Drug made from carotin processed with carbon (8) NARCOTIC {CAROTIN}*{C}

28 Male with pointer gets food item that may be vegetarian or non-vegetarian (6) MARROW {M}{ARROW}

30 Fish only (4) SOLE [DD]

31 Capital city is average in the beginning (5) PARIS {IS}<=>{PAR}

32 Bird seen in fernery (4) ERNE [HIPS]

DOWN

1   Keen to fracture joint (4) KNEE*

2   Idiotic pal seen with East Asian people (8) NEPALESE {PAL+SEEN}*{E}

3   Virginia follows dancer Kelly in city (6) GENEVA {VA}<=>{GENE}

4   Drink with actor's trainer (7) TEACHER {TEA}{CHER}

5   Person who agrees, as despatched by queen (8) ASSENTER {AS}{SENT}{ER}

6   Silver contained in home construction results in conductor's resistance (6) OHMAGE {OHM{AG}E*}

7   Animal from Vishakapatnam area (4) MARE [T]

14 Devices to catch animals and rats running around top of pit (5) TRAPS {TRA{Pit}S*}

16 Clever sting (5) SMART [DD]

18 Graphic symbol from herpetology transliterated in her absence (8) LOGOTYPE  herPETOLOGY*

20 Frightened alien leaves Inland Revenue confused (8) UNNERVED {inlaND+REVENUe}*

21 Sid rejected means of payment for shed (7) DISCARD {SID<=}{CARD}

23 "It's with Chinese editor" needed to be scratched (6) ITCHED {IT}{CH}{ED}

25 Cocktail samosa Sam left after meeting Indian man at first (6) MIMOSA{samOSA}<=>{Me...g}{In...n}{Man} 

27 Outer covering removed from samosa for prophet (4) AMOS sAMOSa

29 Has title to a portion of town square (4) OWNS [T] Semi&lit

Reference List

Now = AD, New = N, Short length = ELL, Carbon = C, Male =- M, Average = PAR, East = E, Queen = ER, Chinese = CH, Editor = ED