No 14777, Saturday 25 Apr 2026, Gridzilla

 ACROSS
1 Heavenly body starts to revolve around sun and ultimately quits revolving (6) QUASAR [Acrostic<]

4 Tooth decay can affect roots in elderly subjects primarily (6) CARIES [Acrostic]
8 Go over the daily grind, taking drugs for a bit of amusement (7) RETRACE {R(-a+E)ETRACE}
9 Girl and boy enthralled by wild bison and apes (7) GIBBONS {G}{B in BISON*}

11 Peek and go on (4,6) KEEP MOVING {PEEK}* [RA]
12 Avoiding pressure, lift part of foot (4) INCH {pINCH}
13 Car manufacturer's latest model is out perhaps (5) TESLA {LATESt}*
14 What a job applicant might do to// develop? (4,4) TAKE FORM [DD]
16 On the way out, daughter stops to pick up prize (4,4) HOLD DEAR {OLD}{D} in {HEAR}
18 Uncivilized gestures to describe creeps? (5) EDGES [T]
20 Oddly, slug hit after ricocheting, like so (4) THUS { SlUg HiT<}
21 Lots of soot spoils furniture (10) FOOTSTOOLS*

23 Armed marine? (7) OCTOPUS [CD]
24 Failing tests regularly, police detective is forced to leave (7) EVICTED {DetECTIVE}*
25 Improves a couple of measures at day school (6) EMENDS {EM+EN}{D}{S}
26 Roll soy or figs basically for desserts (6) FROYOS {SOY OR Figs}<

DOWN

1 What starts quarrels, reportedly, in a waiting line? (5) QUEUE {~Quarrells}
2 Liquid soap or drop of paraffin is suitable (7) APROPOS {SOAP OR Paraffin}*
3 Sarpanch or agent controls city (9) ANCHORAGE [T]
5 Getting angry right away and mellowing (5) AGING {rAGING}
6 Precisely where to see a lawyer's defence strategy? (2,5) IN BRIEF {IN BRIEF}
7 Smart chaps get small cushy jobs (9) SINECURES {S{IN}ECURE}{S}
10 According to Spooner, cold smoked salmon is something a cat owner might buy (6,3) LITTER BOX {Spoonerism of BITTER LOX}

13 Hot chocolate - not cold, mostly, could produce a problem (9) TOOTHACHE {HOT CHOcolATE}*
15 Sleek founders? (5,4) KEELS OVER {SLEEK<}
17 So, bride's desperate to take clothes off? (7) DISROBE*
19 Love, for one, made rich guy irritable (7) GROUCHY {R(-i+O)OCH GUY}*
21 Regained ground (5) FOUND [DD]
22 City will be safe and prosperous ultimately (5) LEEDS [Tail Acrostic]

Reference List

Drugs=E (Ecstasy), Girl=G, Boy=B, Pressure=P, Model=T ( Ford's Model T), Daughter=D, Measures= EM and EN (measures in printing), Day=D, School=S, Right=R, Small=S, Love=0=O, One=1=I.

No 14776, Friday 24 Apr 2026, Vidwan

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ACROSS

1   Firm controlled trade union with bit of engineered isolation (8) SOLITUDE {SOLI{TU}D}{En...d}

5   Earliest of researches in study of Cancer, say (6) TROPIC {T{Re...s}OPIC}

10 Pashto lord taking fellow to India, occasionally (7) AFGHANI {A{F}GHA}{iNdIa}

11 Love piece of crossword clue about German block (7) OCCLUDE {O}{Cr...d}{CLU{D}E}

12 Bridge looked misaligned optically (5-4) CROSS-EYED {CROSS}{EYD}

14 Moves towards new listeners (5) NEARS {N}{EARS}

15 Conspires to use crude things like emeralds and quartzes (8,6) PRECIOUS STONES*

17 Quietly avoiding entrance to places without right arrangements (14) ORCHESTRATIONS {pORCH}{E}{ST{R}ATIONS}E from?

21 Non-specific start of viral fever (5) VAGUE {Vi..l}{AGUE}

22 One who can understand dialogues in a muted movie, split head for Spooner (3,6) LIP READER (rip leader to lip reader)

23 Atmosphere is bad! It's malice! (7) CLIMATE* {iT+MALICE}* {CLIMATE+IS}=ITS MALICE}* [CA]

24 Resistance to change gets noted, possibly for one resting at tide (7) INERTIA {INERTIA+GETS+NOTED}*= {ONE RESTING AT TIDE} [CA]

26 Set him free of belief in one almighty (6) THEISM*

27 Small and remote, on English shore, perhaps (3-5)  ONE-HORSE {ON}{E}{SHORE*}

DOWN

1   Small freedom, having a view of coast! (8) SEASCAPE {S}{E{A}SCAPE}

2   Quietly going close, screening with perfect hearing organ (7) LUGHOLE {pLUG}{wHOLE}

3   It can be green or greenish-blue colour mostly! (3) TEA TEAl

4   Duty-free loo Sir! Possibly for one who advocates making things oneself! (2-2-10) DO-IT-YOURSELFER*

6   Field survey about hoax explosive gathers nothing (11) RECONNOITRE {RE}{CON}{N{O}ITRE}

7   Pick and soften down (7) PLUMAGE {PLUM}{AGE}

8   One from China trading in English dairy product (6) CHEESE {CH(-in+e)EESE}

9   Account of biblical prophet's duties and responsibilities at workplace (3,11) JOB DESCRIPTION  [C&DD]

13 Quiet around his king, child comes back with small starters (5,6) SHISH KEBABS {S{HIS}H}{K}{BABE<=}{S}

16 American queen with awfully mean online self-identification (8) USERNAME {US}{ER}{MEAN*}

18 Great! I'm playing Jazz! (7) RAGTIME*

19 Some cold, sterile, retired fellow (7) OLDSTER [T]

20 Bird with a disheartened voice starting to trill (6) AVOCET {A}{VOiCE}{Tr..l}

25 The flawed crypto-currency (3) ETH*

Reference List

Trade Union = TU, Fellow = F, New = N, English = E, Small = S, Quietly = P, With = W, About = RE, Quiet = SH, King = K, Small = S, Queen = ER