No 14781, Thursday 30 Apr 2026, Arden

Solution to 9D 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   Money kept in her custody is returned (5) SUCRE [T<=]

7   Talk about bad day - usually they all start being stubborn (8) OBDURATE {O{Bad}{Day}{Us...y}RATE}

10 The French flyer is a rogue (7) LADRONE {LA}{DRONE}

11 Opposing win in a way (7) AGAINST {A}{GAIN}{ST}

12 Little over bearing and cunning (7) SLEIGHT {SL{E}IGHT}

13 Day a senior came back for a pigment (3,4) RED LEAD {D}{A}{ELDER}<=

14 Unearthed under ocean, perhaps a primitive craft (6,5) DUGOUT CANOE {DUGOUT}{OCEAN}*

19 Perfect example of pressure on a gas all around (7) PARAGON {P}{AR{A}GON}

21 Standard location detailed by Johnny-come-lately (7) PARVENU {PAR}{VENUe}

23 The billionaire glad to reclaim part of the country (7) ALGERIA [T<=]

25 Angered in other words (7) ENRAGED*

26 Man with idea is mournful (8) PLANGENT {GENT}<=>{PLAN}

27 One left out to burn (5) SINGE SINGlE

DOWN

1   A top detective is a junkie (4,4) ACID HEAD {A}{CID HEAD}

2   Setter over weight, carrying on with an Asian flower (6) MEKONG {ME}{K{ON}G}

3   With Teflon component rotate traffic sign (2,4,4) NO LEFT TURN {TEFLON}* [RA]

4   Some of the old Norse poems added up (4) EDDA [T<=]

5   One over hundred, pronto (2,4) AT ONCE {A{TON}CE}

6   "Band goes over the place" - that's sensational news! (6) SPLASH {S{PL}ASH}

8   Managed to involve staff subject (7) RWANDAN {R{WAND}AN}

9   Bossy breakdown analysis (5) ?T?D? (Addendum - STUDY {STUD}{Y} - See comments)

13 I reinspect distribution for the beneficiaries (10) RECIPIENTS*

15 Potty right in for a famous cosmonaut (7) GAGARIN {GAGA}{R}{IN}

16 Ginger worried about me coming out (8) EMERGING {GINGER}* over {ME}

17 Fight over catching river fish (5) SPRAT {SP{R}AT}

18 Trick used to get uniform breadth and defeat (6) SUBDUE {USED}* over {U}{B}

20 Delight with Royal Salute in the end (6) REGALE {REGAL}{s...tE}

22 Stop flipping at the top - it's most uncommon... (6) RAREST (-a)R(+a)AREST

24 ...stop short and claim (4) AVER AVERt

Reference List

The in French = LA, Way = ST(Street), Bearing = E(East), Day = D, Pressure = P, Standard = PAR, Left = L, Place = PL, Right = R, River = R, Uniform = U, Breadth = B

No 14780, Wednesday 29 Oct 2026, Arden

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   Had returned in disarray - kept gunners hidden, undetected (5,3,5) UNDER THE RADAR {HAD+RETURNED}* over {RA}

10 Imprisoned leader disposed of as he was indisposed (5) AILED jAILED

11 Flow rate on board can be solved (9) TREATABLE {RATE}*{TABLE}

12 Find out why active retired men run away (9) DETERMINE {rETIRED+MEN}*

13 Initially some study and leave (5) SCRAM {Some}{CRAM}

14 Moors' short reply to catch a thief in Delhi (7) ANCHORS {AN{CHOR}Swer}

16 Fancy marketing mantra adopted by a group (7) SUSPECT {S{USP}ECT}

18 A recluse accepts money and distributes it among the poor (7) ALMONER {A}{L{M}ONER} Semi&lit

20 Operator's tool to climb over parking line (7) SCALPEL {SCAL{P}E}{L}

22 Manage to get initial guarantee from bank (5) R?D?E (Addendum - RIDGE {RID{Gu...e}E} - See comments)

24 Close call for new grounding (4,5) NEAR THING {N}{EARTHING}

26 Operation was successful initially on family corruption (4,5) SKIN GRAFT {Su...l}{KIN}{GRAFT}

27 Leaders in Masjids are mainly selected to lead the prayers (5) IMAMS Acrostic Semi&lit

28 Possibly repairing core of the old airmail system (7,6) CARRIER PIGEON*

DOWN

2   Belonging to a family of the languages spoken in Egypt, nothing pertains to the ear (7) NILOTIC {NIL}{OTIC}

3   Deride angrily and admit it keeps you warm (9) EIDERDOWN {DERIDE}*{OWN}

4   Model suit tailored for one in Kigali, perhaps... (5) TUTSI {T}{SUIT}*

5   ...besides eating balanced square meal (9) ELEVENSES {EL{EVEN}SE}{S}

6   Wagers earlier in Spain (5) ANTES {ANTE}{S}

7   Egg plant - not in French restaurant (7) AUBERGE AUBERGinE

8   Help lift car up and down - others get a heart attack (7,6) CARDIAC ARREST {CAR}{AID<=}{CAR}{REST}

9   Worried old-timers got a medical specialist (13) DERMATOLOGIST*

15 Over time psychiatrist gets depreciation (9) SHRINKAGE {AGE}<=>{SHRINK}

17 Bird takes time - that's astonishing (9) STARTLING {S{TAR{T}LING}

19 Admire a bubbly wine (7) MADEIRA* 

21 Compatriot has no money upfront in India (7) PAISANO {NO}<=>{PAISA}

23 Keen to get inside a German university (5) EAGER [T]

25 Misbehave with law, having state support (3,2) ACT UP {ACT}{UP}

Reference List

Gunners = RA(Royal Artillery), Run = R, Thief in Hindi = CHOR, Marketing mantra = USP, Money = M, Parking = P, Line = L, New = N, Model = T, Square = S, Spain = S, Time = T