No 14940, Wednesday 04 Nov 2026, Hypatia

Solution to 20A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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

8   Play fine part briefly - extremely iconic (6) FROLIC {F}{ROLe}{Ic..iC}

9   Merchants on the net using real site (8) ETAILERS*

10 Lots of restrictions on department made redundant by outsourcing (10) BANGALORED {BAN}{GALORE}{D} Lots or Lot? POS Error?

11 Basically every villain is legitimately wicked (4) EVIL Acrostic

12 Cheesy style of posh folk visiting city with money (2,6)  AU GRATIN {A{U}GRA}{TIN}

14 Arrested and posted by leader, moving a step ahead (6) NAILED (-m+n)NAILED

15 Lover and acquaintance entered by porch (7) VERANDA [T]

17 Dad gathering items for hobby (7) PASTIME {PA}{ITEMS*}

20 Sharply criticise one distorting opinion? (6) ?K?W?R (Addendum - SKEWER [DD] - See comments) 

22 America fighting war mostly leads to inequitable arrangement (1,3,4) A RAW DEAL {A}{RAW+LEADs}*

24 Beam in round cycles (4) GRIN (+g)GRIN(-g)

25 Check in and back off (7,3) CHICKEN OUT {CHECK+IN}* [RA]

27 Stench of onion, initially eaten by guy - almost forbidding (5) MALODOUR {On..n} in {MALe}{DOUR}

28 Dismissed former English parliamentarian close to cabinet (6) EXEMPT {EX}{E}{MP}{c...eT}

DOWN

1   Hold dear darling (8) TREASURE [DD]

2   Primarily slimy, like ugly garden creature (4) SLUG Acrostic Semi&lit

3   Occasionally touch Elliott's cat (6) OCELOT {tOuCh+ElLiOtTs}

4   Spooner's smelly bag charm, say (7) KEYRING (reeking to key ring)

5   Najeeb and Ann always wearing headscarf (8) BANDANNA [T]

6   Relieved engineer in vital deal abroad (10) ALLEVIATED* {E} in {VITAL+DEAL}*

7   Maverick actor's voyage (6) CRUISE [DD]

13 Stern woman whose husband died bored by new movie (4,6) REAR WINDOW {REAR}{WI{N}DOW}

16 IT record encrypted for supervisor (8) DIRECTOR*

18 My bad clue: "A map unfolds" (3,5) MEA CULPA* I somehow hate this wxpression. Do we have a 'My Good' also :-) ?

19 Some retiring from the RBI lack competence (7) CALIBRE [T<=]

21 After dusk, frequently picked up small ethnic outfits (6) KURTAS {AfTeR+dUsK<=}{S}

23 Jewellery taken out worn by girl ultimately (6) ANKLET {ANK{girL}ET*}

26 Newcomer agitated this tree crow (4) NEEM {NEEM+CROW}*=NEWCOMER

Reference List

Fine = F, Posh folk = U, Money = TIN, English = E, Engineer = E, New = N, Small = S

No 14939, Tuesday 03 Nov 2026, Hypatia

Solution to 25A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only 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   Former partner not completely inflexible about engaging with sweetheart (2-4) EX-WIFE {FIXEd<=} over {W} and {swEet}

4   Leaders in power saw disheartened youngsters inspiring fashionable visionaries (8) PSYCHICS {Po..r}{Saw}{Yo...rS} over {CHIC}

9   Measure regal London homes (6) GALLON [T]

10 Tough working on his goal after leaving school (8)  HOOLIGAN {ON+HIs+GOAL}*

11 So, each goes in lost cause (4,5,5)  WILD GOOSE CHASE {SO+EACH+GOES}* [RA]

13 Assign fee (10) COMMISSION [DD]

14 Pair of setters in viral image (4) MEME {ME}{ME}

16 Starts from trio unexpectedly blowing air instrument (4) TUBA Acrostic

18 Irreverently, loud sass beginning to provoke worker, largely discontented (10) FLIPPANTLY {F}{LIP}Pr...e}{ANT}{La...lY}

21 What Houdini might have said when denied permission to perform (2,5,3,4) MY HANDS ARE TIED [C&DD]

23 Regretted about magazine's last piece on topless girl published again (8) REISSUED {R{m...nE}{mISS}UED}

24 Author's copy in both ends of store (6) SCRIBE {Sto{CRIB}rE}

25 First knight ringing maiden had to propose (8) N?M?N?T? (Addendum NOMINATE {NO{M}1}{N}{ATE} - See comments)

26 Often reviewed lead genres by geographical area (6) BENGAL {LeAd_GeNrEs+By<=}

DOWN

1   Advantage earned during game especially at the outset (4) EDGE Acrostic

2   With 22 Down, legendary hero shall report around one in the morning (7,4) WILLIAM TELL {WILL}{TELL} over {1 AM}

3   Bright student barging into meals getting drunk (8) FLOODLIT {F{L}OOD}{LIT}

5   Without question, extremely sensuous blouse's a sensation (11) SHOWSTOPPER {HOW} in {Se...oS} and {TOP}{PER}

6   Local icon's clothing material (6) CALICO [T]

7   Batting by reportedly huge person with no appreciation (7) INGRATE {IN}{(~great)GRATE}

8   Therefore, trust in earnest (9) SINCERELY {SINCE}{RELY}

12 Rudely boos the French fragrance that's out of date (11) OBSOLESCENT {BOOS*}{LE}{SCENT}

13 A new tarmac made to accommodate a vessel (9) CATAMARAN {A+N+TARMAC}* over {A}

15 Trace lake submerged in section with frozen water (8) PARTICLE {PART}{IC{L}E}

17 Faith of some oddly following Arab nation mostly lacking resistance (7) BAHAISM {SoMe}<=>{BAHrAIn}

19 Fruitful working together as a set in broadcast (7) TEEMING (~teaming)

20 Quentin's found frequently in concert (6) UNISON {qUeNtInS+fOuNd}

22 See 2 Down

Reference List

With = W, School = S, Loud = L, Knight = N, Maiden = M, Student = L, The in French = LE, New = N, Lake = L, Resistance = R