No 14789, Saturday 09 May 2026, Afterdark

 ACROSS
1 Bells designed primarily, saved for another bicycle part (6) PEDALS {PE{Designed}ALS}

4 Recorded without Prince hit (6) TAPPED {TAP{P}ED}
9 Virtuoso illegally confined in country (4) SOIL [T]
10 Fetching club's client log for analysis (10) COLLECTING {C CLIENT LOG}*
11 Relative was in American-Indian company first (6) COUSIN {US}{IN}<=>{CO}
12 In conclusion, square was covered (8) ENCLOSED {EN{CLOSE}D}
13 Dynamic work unit led by English nationalist; foreigner in charge (9) ENERGETIC {ERG}<=>{E}{N}+{ET}{IC}
15 Members of NSE provide logic (5) SENSE {Letter Bank  NSE*}
16 Auditor's representative joins school groups (5) CAMPS {CA}{MP}{S}
18 A top mole (English) infiltrates UK party by pretext ultimately to gain understanding (9) AGREEMENT {A}{GREE{Mole}{E}N}{pretexT}
22 Penny or Romeo's free altogether, essentially to make food (8) PORRIDGE {P}{O}{R}{RID}{altoGEther} OR=O?

23 Savages get direction to stay inside vacant bases (6) BEASTS {EAST} in {BaseS}
25 Arrival at old city begins with exciting exploits (10) ADVENTURES {ADVENT}{UR}{Exciting}{S} S from?
26 Information on female's operation (4) FACT {F}{ACT}
27 Want to become father after decent earnings initially (6) DESIRE {SIRE}<=>{Decent}{Earnings}
28 Rode for a period of time (day) (6) CYCLED {CYCLE}{D}

DOWN
1 Say, she could be poor nun (7) PRONOUN*
2 Party line at house is for puppets, perhaps (5) DOLLS {DO}{L}{LS}

3 In speech, misrepresent meaning to get permit (7) LICENCE {~ LIE SENSE}
5 An inside information on vacating city office (6) AGENCY {A}{GEN}{CitY}
6 Favourite job! Essentially dump fuel (9) PETROLEUM {PET}{ROLE}{dUMp} 
7 Dutch champions not beginning meals (7) DINNERS {D}{wINNERS}
8 Liberal or hater? (8,5) BLEEDING HEART {HATER*} [RA]
14 Journalists having endless red wine, refresh regularly (9) REPORTERS {REd}{PORT}{rEfReSh}
17 Shunned the Dove ad I shot (7) AVOIDED*
19 English doctor meets idiot at entrance of Yemen consulate (7) EMBASSY {E}{MB}{ASS}{Yemen}
20 Seen as warm (7) NOTICED {NOT ICED}
21 Somewhat aggrieved, I tormented boss of 14 (6) EDITOR [T]
24 Legal to decapitate, but horrific (5) AWFUL {lAWFUL}

REFERENCE LIST

Prince=P, Clubs=C, American=US, Indian=IN, English=E, National=N, Foreigner=ET (Extra-Terrestrial), In Charge=IC, Auditor=CA (Chartered Accountant), Penny=P, Romeo=R, Old city=Ur, Female=F, Day=D, Line=L, House= LS (Lok Sabha), Dutch=D, Doctor=MB.  

No 14788, Friday 08 May 2026, Afterdark

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ACROSS

1   Remove new individual entering party (6) BANISH {BA{N}{I}SH}

5   Before church work, Louisiana doctor gets a small cut of meat (4,4) LAMB CHOP {CH}{OP}<=>{LA}{MB}

9   In all likelihood, expert will get bowled cleverly (8) PROBABLY {PRO}{B}{ABLY}

10 Uncover study collecting funds frequently by extortion primarily (6) DENUDE {DEN}{fUnDs}{Ex...n}

11 Fine clothing for lawyer who's given to looting (10) PREDACIOUS {PRE{DA}CIOUS}

12 One's getting married at morning with religious leader (4) IMAM {1}{M}{AM}

13 Case for reconstructing casino after one crack in the front (8) OCCASION {CASINO}*<=>{One}{Cr..k}

16 Residents of Borneo condemn a Tory, perhaps (6) NEOCON [T]

17 Greek essentially follows specialist in main course (6) ENTREE {gREEk}<=>{ENT}

19 Dangerous tide came to devastate (8) DECIMATE* 

21 Son to sleep at break (4) SNAP {S}{NAP}

22 Innocent publican set free by rifleman essentially (10) INCULPABLE {PUBLICAN}{r.fLEm.n}

25 Claire cycled back to get pastry (6) ECLAIR (+e)ECLAIR(-e)

26 Say Man, settles to cover for a patterned fabric (8) PAISLEYS {PA{ISLE}YS}

27 Mutinous mean lad obstructs rule to become a municipal officer (8) ALDERMAN {MEAN+LAD}* over {R}

28 Insect can have family (6) MAYFLY {MAY}{FLY}

DOWN

2   Say, a drier is lighter, foot's short (5) AIRER fAIRER

3   A doctor's half dead at plant (5) IMBED {1}{MB}{DEad<=} No reversal indicator

4   A composer in Hawaii gets a brazier (7) HIBACHI {1}{BACH} in {HI}

5   State that lady won somehow (3,4) LAY DOWN*

6   Mohammad is only confining to US state capital (7) MADISON [T]

7   Type of writing made of numeric characters (9) CUNEIFORM*

8   Even woman in counter can be an anomaly? (3,3,3) ODD MAN OUT {ODD/even}{MAN/woman}{OUT/in}

14 Can California arrest one falling short? Primarily is it accepted by law? (9) CANONICAL {CAN}{CAL} over {ONe}{Is}

15 A new parolee fled on a flier (9) AEROPLANE {A+N+PAROLEE}* 

18 Witty remark on two animals found behind creek essentially (7) EPIGRAM {PIG}{RAM}<=>{crEek}

19 Zero power used in a sport (7) DUCKPIN {DUCK}{P}{IN}

20 Metal collected outside college/institute/university (7) CALCIUM {CAL{C}{I}{U}M}

23 Townhall eyewitness checked in backstreet (5) ALLEY [T]

24 Behold, setback is constant (5) LOYAL {LO}{LAY<=}

Reference List

New = N, Individual, Church = CH, Work = OP, Bowled = B, Lawyer = DA(District Attorney), Married = M, Specialist = ENT, Son = S, Rule = R, Foot = F, Power = P, College = C, Institute = I, University = U