No 13807, Wednesday 08 Mar 2023, Arden

Rangoli by Gowri
Artwork by Prasanna	Rangoli by Gowri

Solution to 25A 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

6   Friend embracing, greeting with a glass bottle (5) PHIAL {P{HI}AL}

7   Mean to hide his dress mischievously (8) IMPISHLY {IMP{HIS*}LY}

10 Live match played outside - play! (7) MACBETH {MAC{BE}TH*}

11 Mixed up with salt, a cook uses it (7) SPATULA {UP}SALT}*{A}

12 Drink to hide the dubious role of disease (7) CHOLERA {CH{ROLE*}A}

13 "Evergreen growth on currency margins" they report (7) CYPRESS {Cu...cY}{PRESS}

14 Hands-on meet? Perhaps, much more than that (3,4,4)  AND THEN SOME*

19 Fish eating animal, male morphology and syntax (7) GRAMMAR {G{RAM}{M}AR}

21 Flowers for many applications (7) LOTUSES  (Correction - {LOT}{USES} - See comments)

23 Goa, very bad for space traveller (7) VOYAGER*

25 Airlines notice, man returns call (7) E?O?A?E (Addendum - EVOCATE {ETA}{COVE}<= )

26 Cryptically clued, odd search leads to a blind alley (3,2,3) CUL DE SAC {CLUED}*{SeArCh}

27 Bull fish back on court (5) EDICT {IDE<=}{CT}

DOWN

1   Easy on a tree? (8) CINCHONA {CINCH}{ON}{A}

2   Run on charge - both sides overcharge (6) FLEECE {FLEE}{Ch..gE}

3   Spooner's spoil sport, useful for the housewife (4,6) DISH WASHER (~ wish dasher to dish washer)

4   Work to get into the loop usually (4) OPUS [T]

5   Charm of the entire flower (6) ALLURE {ALL}{URE}

6   Stone the up climbing rodents (6) PUMICE {UP<=}{MICE}

8   Keep away a politician's entry - need to clean up at the very top (7) SHAMPOO {SH{A}{MP}OO}

9   Wooden boat (5) BALSA [DD]

13 Meeting to study magical power (10) CONFLUENCE {CON}{FLUENCE}

15 Half of them did go around acting like someone powerful and famous (7) DEMIGOD {thEM+DID+GO}*

16 Oddly, with each charge becomes very happy (8) ECSTATIC {EaCh}{STATIC}

17 Nothing to offer but a pointed arch... (5) OGIVE {0}{GIVE}

18 ...like some money and growth (6) ASCENT {AS}{CENT}

20 Retreat for years into a ghetto (6) ASYLUM {A}{S{Y}LUM}

22 Tool to allow upcoming fight inside (6) TROWEL {LET}<= over {ROW}

24 Starts with rough usage, soon tools will corrode (4) RUST Acrostic

Reference List

Live = BE, Male = M, Man = COVE, Court = CT, Study = CON, Years = Y