No 14897, Saturday 12 Sep 2026, Bruno

 ACROSS
1 Farmer often plays around lake in a cheery way (10) PLEASANTLY {P{L}EASANT}{pLaYs}
6 Catch no-good groups of criminals, relapsing (4) SNAG {GANgS<}
9 Most VIPs were wearing hot green for advanced showing (10) PREVIEWING {VIPs WERE}*{G} around {IN}
10 Fish enthusiast reeling second catch (4) TUNA {NUT<}{cAtch}

12 Plain curiosity, when curtailed, can become showy (12) MERETRICIOUS {MERE}{CURIOSITy}*
15 Homeless person's fine eventually, after overcoming bit of overdose (7) FLOATER {F}{LATER} around {Overdose}
16 Modern financial institution - one flirting with disqualification over 1000 dollars! (7) NEOBANK {ONE*}{BAN}{K}
17 Whip bit of egg-white into foam (7) LEATHER {L{Egg-white}ATHER}
19 Element's addition while recovering takes edge off pain (7) SULPHUR {PLUS<}{HURt}

20 Firm and strong bottoms seen on skilled sportsmen basically - you could place cups on them (6,6) COFFEE TABLES {CO}{F}{FEET}{ABLE}{Sportsmen} 

23 Word for stuff announced internally (4) NOUN [HIPS]
24 Slip into neglect that requires less energy (5,5) STRIP LIGHT {TRIP} in {SLIGHT}

25 Tech overlords hiding answer (4) ECHO [T]
26 Place beyond reality where The Lord somehow accepts without resistance (10)  OTHER WORLD {THE LORD}* around {WO R}

DOWN
1 Tube of Epipen unwrapped (4) PIPE ePIPEn
2 Uninterrupted function finished early (4) EVEN {EVENt}
3 Love letter composed with this very often gets thrown out for sharp item (8,4) STILETTO HEEL {LOvE+LETTEr+THIS}*

4 We return to family finally, visiting, around this occasion (3,4) NEW YEAR  {WE<}{familY} in {NEAR} Semi &Lit
5 Avoiding AI, I created unoriginal exercise (4,3) LONG RUN {UNORiGiNaL}*
7 Foreign currency's course blocked by New York? That can make your nerves weak... (10) NEUROPATHY {EURO}{PATH} in NY
8 Artist at Russia's interior took risk, composed within limits of glasnost - that could leave one somewhat exposed (5,5) GRASS SKIRT {RA}{ruSSia}{RISK*}in {GlassnosT}

11 Possible friend's distant after husband interrupted and dropped in - very weird, to begin with (12) SCHOOLFELLOW {C{H}OOL}{FELL}in {SO}+Weird
13 Lady joining workplace next to new church and liquor store (3-7) OFF-LICENCE {L}in {OFFICE}+{N}{CE}
14 Attack overwhelming beleaguered ally of King's one of five in a row (5,5) ROYAL FLUSH {RUSH} around {ALLY OF}*

18 Errant cast can't often make noise (3-1-3) RAT-A-TAT {eRrAnT cAsT cAnT} 
19 Posh boy wearing slender cap from Europe's grand (7) SUBLIME {S{U}{B}LIM}{Europe}
21 Area magazine boosted culture (4) AGAR {A}{RAG<}

22 Boss' investigation was cut short (4) STUD {STUDy}

Reference List

Lake=L, Good=G, Hot=In, Green=G, Fine=F, 1000 dollars=K, Firm=Co (Company), Strong=F (Fortissmo), Without=WO, Resistance=R, Love=O, Husband=H, Lady=L, Posh=U, Boy=B, Area=A.

No 14896, Friday 11 Sep 2026, Crossant

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ACROSS

1   Begin with a bit of Turkish coffee (hot, not cold) (3,3) TEE OFF {Tu...h}{cOFFEE}*

4   Short stories about love - new collection withdrawn (6) CONTES {C}{O}{N}{SET<=}

9   SRH's opening attack is superior (4) SMUG {Srh}{MUG}

10 Felt sceptical initially about anything learnt without formal training (4-6) SELF-TAUGHT {FELT+Sc...l}*{AUGHT}

11 Office in Middle East country? Trouble all around (6) BUREAU {UAE}{RUB}<=

12 Hardik and Krunal maybe in trouble without runs at the start of season (8) BROTHERS {B{R}OTHER}{Se...n}

13 Fundamentally a programming language everyone gets easily in the end (9) BASICALLY {BASIC}{ALL}{e...lY}

15 Criminals not professionals (4) CONS [CD]

16 The Spanish sailor going around Italian island (4) ELBA {EL}{AB<=}

17 Awfully pleased about a walk along the seaside (9) ESPLANADE {ESPL{AN}ADE*}

21 "Tidy" - a praise Dhoni got often, perhaps (4-4) WELL-KEPT [DD]

22 Thinking about it in advance (6) MOTIVE {MO{IT<=}VE}

24 What NY's not perhaps?! (10) SHANTYTOWN* &lit

25 Occasionally feel sorry about part played in event (4) ROLE {fEeL+sOrRy}<=

26 She believes that person is among the earliest of telecom technicians (6) THEIST {HE}{IS} in {Te...m}{Te...s}

27 Mature party welcoming women (4,2) GROW UP {GRO{W}UP}

DOWN

1   It seems Paul Ryan regularly makes Japanese dish (7) TEMPURA {iT+sEeMs+PaUl+RyAn}

2   Dog with head covered is bald perhaps (5) EAGLE bEAGLE

3   Narrow passage in new flat is unusable to begin with (7) FISTULA {FLAT+IS+Un...e}*

5   Work to get money, having ultimately no alternative (6) OPTION {OP}{TI{nO}N}

6   Landing in Spooner's urban community in Netherlands (5,4) TOUCH DOWN (~dutch town to touch down)

7   Power now controlled by extremely sententious figures (7) SPHERES {P}{HERE} in {Se...uS}

8   Obligations about accepting American laws primarily for international expansion of trade (13) GLOBALISATION {OBLIGATIONS}* over {A}{Laws|

14 Bias of Indian doctor getting a cut? (9) IMBALANCE {I}{MB}{A}{LANCE}

16 View of European - definitely powerful (7) EYESHOT {E}{YES}{HOT}

18 Kind of flow seen in rising wild river (7) LAMINAR {ANIMAL<=}{R}

19 What photographer may do to film progress? (7) DEVELOP [DD] No longer done in this digital age!

20 Love "Emotional Rescue" sung originally by Rolling Stones (6) BERYLS {Love+Em...l+Re...e+Sung+BY+}*

23 Worth fighting for project (5) THROW*

Reference List

Cold = C, About = C, New = N, Runs = R, The in Spanish = EL, Sailor = AB, Women = W, Money = TIN, Power = P, American = A, Indian = I, European = E, River = R