No 14680, Thursday 01 Jan 2026, Hypatia

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Artwork by Prasanna

Rangoli by Gowri

Solution to 1D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered 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

7   Hunt securing a Persian tiger in tunnels underground (8) CATACOMB {C{A}{CAT<=}OMB}

9   Jailer suppressing nationalist in country (6) TURKEY TURnKEY

10 Former TN Chief Minister in back-to-back articles (4) ANNA {AN}{AN<=}

11 Some garbage collectors adding to unpleasant delays, per Spooner (10) LITTERBAGS (~bitter lags to litterbags)

12 Empty vessels - one inside another (6) VACANT {VA{CAN}T}

14 One showing resistance joined in home managed by rector (8) OHMMETER {OHM{MET}E*}{R}

15 Late run in place that's between two extremes (7,6) NEUTRAL GROUND {LATE+RUN}* [RA]

18 Images containing special updates on WhatsApp, say (8) STATUSES {STATU{S}ES}

20 Thanks politicians restricting introduction of rate hikes (6) TRAMPS {T{Rate}A}{MPS}

21 Purposely adapted to absorb volume in excess (10) OVERSUPPLY {O{V}ERSUPPLY*}

22 Boy grabbing ring quickly (4) SOON {SO{O}N}

23 Every second score in this debut of cricket commentator (6) CRITIC {sCoRe+In+ThIs}{Cr...t}

24 Gin packed in wooden carton (5,3) TETRA PAK {TE{TRAP}AK} This is a Brand Name

DOWN

1   Support unit given to soldier protecting American money (8) ?A?N?A?N (Addendum - MAINTAIN {MA{1}N}{T{A}IN} - See comments)

2   God of love keeps all men active basically (4) KAMA Acrostic

3   Tumbler picked up regularly from the club lodge (6) GOBLET {ThE+cLuB+lOdGe}<=

4   Flag bowler consuming time on hand (8) STREAMER {S{T}{R}EAMER}

5   Abba, scratching head, unclear about material left behind after a star's death (4,6) CRAB NEBULA {aBBA+UNCLEAR}*

6   Dog and black bird (6) BEAGLE {B}{EAGLE}

8   Something that has no limit - Pi, perhaps? (10,3) BOTTOMLESS PIT {PIt} Definition by example

13 Corrupt leader at bar negotiating about union (10) ADULTERATE {LEADER+AT+T}* over {U}

16 Store procures our cereal boxes (8) RESOURCE [T]

17 Official Tamil podcast? (8) DIPLOMAT {TAMIL+POD}*

19 Local travel mostly arranged before noon (6) TAVERN {TRAVEl}*{N}

20 Sporty star posing in these clandestine meetings with a pro (6) TRYSTS {TRYSTS+A+PRO}=SPORTY STAR

22 Fraudulent activity's part of this campaign (4) SCAM [T]

Reference List

Rector = R, Special = S, Thanks = TA, Volume = V, American = A, Gin = TRAP, Time = T, Hand = R, Black = B, Bar = T, Noon = N

No 14679, Wednesday 31 Dec 2025, Hypatia

Solution to 22A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered 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   Stretches promises (6) SPELLS [DD]

4   Oddly planned gifts for scholar (6) PANDIT {PlAnNeD+gIfTs}

9   Killer whale leads in openly ruthless calculated assaults (4) ORCA Acrostic

10 Household item massaging the cop's leg (7,3) CLOTHES PEG*

11 Dehradun is only conducting concert (6) UNISON [T]

12 Busy forever? (8) TIMELESS [DD]

13 Spooner's blank call to conservative party group (5,4) RIGHT WING (~white ring to right wing)

15 Chant of discontented holy man (4) HYMN {HolY+MaN}

16 Dumpling in two seconds (4) MOMO {MO}{MO}

17 Thorough search making Middle Eastern VIP reportedly upset (9) SHAKEDOWN (~sheik down)

21 Lighter female hit by boyfriend (8) FLAMBEAU {F}{LAM}{BEAU}

22 Watch dad curbing online bully (6) P?T?O?

24 Little kid recalled actor behind royal palace (10) BUCKHINGAM {CUB<=}{HAM}<=>{KING}

25 Nothing lost from fixing bogus software issues (4) BUGS BoGUS*

26 Cool staff tackling an attack (6) INROAD {IN}{RO{A}D}

27 Indian legislation protecting politician's influence (6) IMPACT {I}{MP}{ACT}

DOWN

1   Playing ragas in musical instrument (7) SARANGI*

2   Miss supporting old American in tests (5) EXAMS {MS}<=>{EX}{A}

3   Fortune gained returning to city (7) LUCKNOW {LUCK}{WON<=}

5   In mixed metaphor mostly covering page (2,4) AT HOME {METApHOr}*

6   Departed, bored by cycling games shown (9) DISPLAYED {DI{(+s)SPLAY(-s)}ED}

7   Betrayal in the conclusion of Grant's "About a boy" (7) TREASON {g..nT}{RE}{A}{SON}

8   Preoccupied tonight..uh? (4,2,7) LOST IN THOUGHT {TONIGHT+UH}* [RA]

14 Me? Am ok, actively nurtured by that woman - the one in charge of the house (9) HOMEMAKER {ME+AM+OK}* in {HER}

16 Find out Gulf army regularly set up fictional location (7) MALGUDI {fInD+oUt+SuLf+ArMy}<=

18 What the younger brother did in "Deewar"? Stayed silent! (4,3) KEPT MUM [DD]

19 Eschew rough Tarantino films made (7) WROUGHT [T]

20 Ambassador runs in a scary condition (6) HERNIA {HE}{R}{IN+A}*

23 Maestro ably performing in Mysore with this set of drums (5) TABLA {TABLA+MYSORE}*={MAESTRO+ABLY} [CA]

Reference List

Second = MO, Female = F, Cool = IN, Indian = I, Miss = MS, American = A, Page = P, About = RE, Runs = R