No 14275, Tuesday 24 Feb 2026, Arden

Solution to 10A 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   Fantastic idea, note India gets more coverage - it's a reminder (4-7) AIDE-MEMOIRE {IDEA*}{ME}{MO{I}RE}

7   Stole a launch, almost (3) BOA BOAt

9   Old jail they say is best (5) EXCEL {EX}{(~cell)CEL}

10 Regularly impair by blocking new beneficiary (9) R?C?P?E?T ()

11 Motherland's hell-fire (9) DAMNATION {DAM}{NATION}

12 Like to check however, for fungus (5) YEAST {YE{AS}T}

13 Brief pull out (7) EXTRACT [DD]

15 Keep here evenly - you'll need it for fencing (4) EPEE {kEeP+hErE}

18 Boring review of a poet (4) DRAB<=

20 Playing team - regret about it being not professional (7) AMATEUR {TEAM*}{RUE<=}

23 Groom very softly bites lip (5) PRIMP {P{RIM}P}

24 Respite on assignment (9) REMISSION {RE}{MISSION}

26 "Drink from birth" - recollected a cheat (9) CHARLATAN {CHAR}{NATAL<=}

27 Forget talk of rejecting some coffee (5) LATTE [T<=]

28 Wool supplier - see how one ends up (3) EWE Tail acrostic

29 They look for another aspect with Harry (6,5) SEARCH PARTY {ASPECT+HARRY}*

DOWN

1   Bluebeard - born and raised in the city (8) ABERDEEN {BEARD}*{NEE<=}

2   Killed uprising- China will destroy (8) DECIMATE {ICED<=}{MATE}

3   Holding formal talks in the island nation (5) MALTA [T]

4   Red planet swallows eleven tons (7) MARXIST {MAR{XI}S}{T}

5   Infuriate a smoker (7) INCENSE [DD] 

6   Perhaps same hype about millions suffering from breathlessness (9) EMPHYSEMA {SAME+HYPE}* over {M}

7   Extra police for regulation by local authorities (6) BYELAW {BYE}{LAW}

8   Cause trustee to reject the odd ones - very clever (6) ASTUTE {cAuSe+TrUsTeE}

14 After a harvest, grain storage came up in the outskirts of Athens (9) ACROPOLIS {A}{CROP}{SILO<=}

16 Go-between randomly to admire (8) MEDIATOR* 

17 Greenhouse or cross over energy? (8) ORANGERY {OR}{ANG{E}RY}

19 Bitter about a cap - part of habit (7) BIRETTA {BITTER}*{A}

20 Annual call by clearing banks - crazy to lose interest (7) ALMANAC {cALl}{MANiAC}

21 Father in pain, is brave (6) APACHE {A{PA}CHE}

22 Delusion over border, time to support (6) MIRAGE {RIM<=}{AGE}

25 Maybe helps to carry (5) SHLEP*

Reference List

Note = ME, India = I, Old = EX, Mother = DAM, Very softly = PP, On = RE, Drink = CHAR, Born = NEE, Tons = T, Millions = M, Extra = BYE, Energy = E, Interest = I

No 14274, Monday 23 Feb 2026, Arden

Solution to 5D 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

6   Tries out from things for cleaning and grooming with a fabric (5) TOILE TOILEtries

7   Criminal chained in front of a Spanish villa (8) HACIENDA {CHAINED}*{A}

10 Private joint - one enters (7) SOLDIER {SOLD{1}ER}

11 Time to argue about subversion (7) TREASON {T}{REASON}

12 Barbaric, cruel, hosts providing for the devil (7) LUCIFER {LUC{IF}ER*}

13 Able to jump into a run-down theatre (7) FLEAPIT {F{LEAP}IT}

14 Strangely neutral about extra input - It's the ultimate (2,4,5) NE PLUS ULTRA {NEUTRAL}* over {PLUS}

19 Figure about taking people in Delhi to a German city (7) COLOGNE {CO{LOG}NE}

21 Religious one - here at the centre, he was the first (7) PIONEER {PI}{ONE}{hERe}

23 Said to be different amid all the noise - it's contempt (7) DISDAIN {D{SAID*}IN}

25 Cocktail drinking - one with bottle opener is my brother (7) SIBLING {S{1}{Bo...e}LING}

26 Song Of Songs able to make you giggle, they say (8) CANTICLE {CAN}{(~tickle)TICLE}

27 Criminals somewhat received jail sentence (5) TRIAD {T{RI}AD}

DOWN

1   By housing the sick is able to get a water boiler (8) BILLYCAN {B{ILL}Y}{CAN}

2   Rescue whistle blower's hidden story (6) RELIEF {RE{LIE}F}

3   Yellowish green map, utilize again (10) CHARTREUSE {CHART}{REUSE}

4   Go away with these territory markers (4) SCAT [DD]

5   Makes sense since a state doubled input (4,2) ?D?S ?P (Addendum - ADDS UP {A{DD}S}{UP} )

6   Lets out but we are caught in a fight (6) TUSSLE {T{US}SLE*}

8   Others follow the first lady to the top of the world (7) EVEREST {REST}<=>{EVE}

9   Come together as one, close to one (5) UNITE {UNIT}{onE}

13 Rear houses empty from top to bottom bed (4-6) FOUR-POSTER {F{(-p)OUR(+p)P}OSTER}

15 Show servant with worker (7) PAGEANT {PAGE}{ANT}

16 Copy right - it provided a welcome drink (8) APERITIF {APE}{R}{IT}{IF}

17 They're highly reactive like the odd adopted child (5) ACIDS {A{ChIlD}S} Letter pick indicator wrongly placed

18 Starts first in Delhi - internal set up is against congress (6) FRIGID {Fi..t}{In}{De..i} over {RIG}

20 Rascal masquerading as an old sailor (6) LASCAR*

22 Gold coins - where are they in circulation (6) ORBITS {OR BITS}

24 Not all electronic equipment is good (4) NICE [T]

Reference List

Time = T, People in Delhi = LOG, Religious = PI, Right = R, Gold = OR