No 13167, Wednesday 10 Feb 2021, Dr. X

Solution to 10A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS

1   Fail to catch ball at boundary? It needs to be explained (5,3) LOOSE END {LO{O}SE}{END}

5   Sweet child in brood cuddling soft toy’s head (6) MOPPET {MO{P}PE}{Toy}

10 Police officer reviewing messy assassination of king in this type of crime (7) C?P?C?T (Addendum - COPYCAT {COP}{TACkY<=} - See comments))

11 Escorted old woman inside (7) USHERED {US{HER}ED}

12 Prez in Eritrea suppressing online publication (1-4) E-ZINE [T]

13 Most spot sea eagle inside low-growing plant (9) PIMPERNEL {PIMP{ERNE}Le}

14 Depressed when alcohol stocks are over (3,2,7) OUT OF SPIRITS [DD]

18 Dreadful senior framing tough rules (12) RESTRICTIONS {RE{STRICT}IONS*}

21 Master coach on reflection, worried about pitcher (9) SUBJUGATE {BUS<=}{JUG}{ATE}

23 Sack fellow in anger (5) RIFLE {RI{F}LE}

24 Warrior’s belt is smooth, most ornate (7) BALDRIC {BALD}{RICh}

25 Caustic and resentful on retirement, hard to leave scene of activity (7) EROSIVE {SORE<=}{hIVE}

26 Old, cunning Byzantine governor (6) EXARCH {EX}{ARCH}

27 In a way surprisingly, weather is not hot (2,2,4) AS IT WERE {WEAThER+IS}*

DOWN

1   Apprentice quietly leaves to purloin piece of jewellery (6) LOCKET {L}{pOCKET}

2   Esoteric leader of pagans involved in organising choir (6) ORPHIC {OR{Pa..n}HIC*}

3   Old queen cuts support for national treasury (9) EXCHEQUER {EX}{CHE{QU}ER}

4   Unacceptable hoax backed by revolting drunkard runs into difficulty (3,2,2,7) NOT UP TO SCRATCH {NOT UP}{SOT<=}{C{R}ATCH} (Correction {PUT ON<=}{SOT<=}{C{R}ATCH - See comments)

6   Earthy pigment in mineral aggregate contains carbon and hydrogen (5) OCHRE {O{C}{H}RE}

7   Afraid of mean associate raising commotion about nothing (8) PARANOID {PAR}{A}{DI{O}N<}

8   Rumpus by drunk around society in tasks that need to be addressed (2-2,4) TO-DO-LIST {TO DO} over  {LI{S}T}

9   Resignation letter penned by one avoiding funny business (14) SUBMISSIVENESS {MISSIVE} in {BUSiNESS}*

15 Central bar alongside square in bustling metro (9) INNERMOST {INN}{ERMO{S}T*}

16 Laser beam used to cut mass that can be obliterated (8) ERASABLE {LASER+BEAm}*

17 Most beautiful woman in Asia perhaps becomes an actress (8) ISABELLA {ISA{BELLe}A*}

19 Couple of murders in workplace (6) OFFICE {OFF}{ICE}

20 Drastic split ending in divorce (6) SEVERE {SEVER}{d...cE}

22 Language in Hungary, regularly spoken I see (5) UGRIC {hUnGaRy}{I}{C}(~ i see) &lit

Reference List

Soft = P, King = K, Fellow = F, Hard = H, Hot =H, Apprentice = L, Quietly = P, Old = EX, Queen = QU, Runs = R, Carbon = C, Hydrogen = H, Mean = PAR, Associate = A, Society = S,  Square = S, Mass = M