No 14943, Saturday 07 November 2026, Saral

 ACROSS
7 Will unwrapped hoarding roughly (6) ORDAIN {hOARDINg}*
8 Extremely nice craftwork on large excellent band (8) NECKLACE {NicE}{CraftworK}{L}{ACE}

9 Flier skiing casually around fellow leading that woman (10) KINGFISHER {SKIING*} around F+HER

10 Press withdrawing some section originally (4) IRON [T]
11 Double dealing in gamble with king on ace against amateur in retreat (8) BETRAYAL {BET}{R}{A}{LAY<}
12 Colour of stylish work outfit principally (6) INDIGO {IN}{DIG}{Outfit}
13 Very similar building opposite with a primarily aesthetic natural design (3,4,2,1,3) TWO PEAS IN A POD {OPPOSITE+W+A+Aesthetic Natural Design}*
16 Cleric from Italy entering book store (6) BISHOP {B}{I}{SHOP}
18 Perfect small round instrument next to sailor (8) ABSOLUTE {S}{O}{LUTE}<=>{AB}
21 Partly cook ravioli vegetable (4) OKRA [T]

22 Exceptional and fantastic rugs in spas (10) SURPASSING*
23 Asked enrolled nurse about splitting money (8) ENQUIRED {EN}{QUI{RE}D}
24 At work ordering donut at the end of day (2,4) ON DUTY {DONUT*}{daY}

DOWN
1 Line cutting two diamonds that produces smoky effect (3,3) DRY ICE {D}{RY}{ICE}
2 Jumper damaging organ during tree climbing (8) KANGAROO {ORGAN*} in {OAK<}

3 Hatred and wickedness killing men (6) ENMITY {ENorMITY}
4 Stinger spreading poison finally toxic vapour (8) SCORPION {POISON+toxiC+vapouR}*

5 Joined everyone with papers outside office at last (6) ALLIED {ALL}{I{officE}D}
6 Bill preparing food essentially egg for Arnab, say (3,2,3) ACT OF GOD {ACT}{FOOD+eGg}*
8 Hero sold brand actively without restrictions (2,5,6) NO HOLDS BARRED*
13 Sets bar with layers having one cake regularly (8) THICKENS {T}{H{I}{CaKe}ENS}
14 Former model bored by old city promotion (8) EXPOSURE {EX}{POS{UR}E}
15 Friend with fresh ideas for defence (8) PALISADE {PAL}{IDEAS*}

17 Not starting shiatsu, relaxing in interval (6) HIATUS {sHIATSU*}
19 Follow husband in blue with old wife (6) SHADOW {S{H}AD}{O}{W}
20 Rules of European occupying temporary shelters (6) TENETS {TEN{E}TS}

REFERENCE LIST

Large=L, Fellow=F, King=R(Rex), Ace=A, With=W, Italy=I, Book=B, Small=S, Round=0=O, Sailor=AB, Enrolled Nurse=EN, About=Re, Diamond=D, Men=OR(Other Ranks), Papers=ID, Bar=T, Husband=H, Old=O, Wife=W, European=E.

No 14942, Friday 06 Nov 2026, Karaoke

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only.

Thanks for the response, here's the regular blog.

ACROSS

1   Tries vigorously at school, writes exam again (6) RESITS {TRIES*}{S}

4   Enjoy yourself, fix one base, in retreat? (4,2,2) LIVE IT UP {PUT}{1}{EVIL}<=

10 Small drink accepted in theatre (5) DRAMA {DRAM}{A}

11 Healthy and smart figure secures record (2,3,4) IN THE PINK {IN}{TH{EP}INK}

12 Fair share for an exhibit on display (9) SHOWPIECE {SHOW}{PIECE}

13 Confidential assistants’ words spoken in undertone carry no substance mainly (5) AIDES AsIDES

14 Destructive tide engulfed people with advanced mental illness (8) DEMENTIA {DE{MEN}TI*}{A}

15 Greek letter of death, maybe time to say goodbye to dead (5) THETA {dEATH}*<=>{T}

18 Like in support for badger (5) TEASE {TE{AS}E}

20 Air strike — It produces sound (5,3) VOICE BOX {VOICE}{BOX}

23 Eight kill people belonging to the family for food! (5) PASTA PAkiSTAn

25 Reviewed in theory about climax of sex hormone produced within body (9) THYROXINE {IN+THEORY}* over {seX}}

26 Childless woman ran up a hill leaving husband in distress (9) NULLIPARA {RAN+UP+A+hILL}*

27 Ultimately yoghurt, cucumber, chilli, masala, pudina mixed in Indian dish (5) RAITA {y...rT+c...eR+c...lI+m...lA+p...nA}* Semi&lit

28 It’s a mockery to wear a waistcoat to go outside (8) TRAVESTY {TR{A}{VEST}Y}

29 Charm a rring? (6) APPEAL {A}{PPEAL}

DOWN

1   This vegetable is in hard shape (6) RADISH {RAD{IS}H*}

2   Father after taking drug boards plane with associate to watch series of episodes (4,5) SOAP OPERA {POP}{E} in {SOAR}{A}

3   Stamp of artist inscribed in place of worship erasing signature at the end (7) TRAMPLE {T{RA}eMPLE}

5   Expecting to lose pool regularly, what if I play foolishly with money? (2,3,6,3) IN THE FAMILY WAY {WHAT+IF+I+pLAY+MoNEY}*

6   Stylish English cricket side gets tan unfortunately (7) ELEGANT {E}{LEG}{TAN*}

7   Trustworthy group of three killed associate for espionage primarily (5) TRIED TRI(-a+e)ED

8   Country that takes pains criminally to release extremists on borders (8) PAKISTAN {TAKes+PAINS}*

9   Passage from a periodical, one to examine by rule and law (9,5) DIGESTIVE TRACT {DIGEST}{1}{VET}{R}{ACT}

16 Coteries used to induce independent and arouse invitingly (9) EROTICISE {COTERIES}* over {I}

17 Hurry up. Break set point (4,2,2) STEP ON IT*

19 Vague and almost bad budget rejected (7) EVASIVE {EVIl}{SAVE}<=

21 Some tapir to get around seeking attention (3-4) EGO-TRIP [T<=]

22 Release knight from lock up on bail finally in particular (6) DETAIL {DETAIn}{baiL}

24 As long as possible, perform dance to this music (5) SALSA {AS+L+AS}*

Reference List

School = S, Accepted = A, Record = EP(Extended Play), Dead = D, Time = T, Support = TEE, Husband = H, Drug = E, Associate = A, Artist = RA, English = E, Cricket side = LEG, Rule = R, Independent = I, Long = L