No 14317, Tuesday 29 Oct 2024, Avtaar

Solution to 14A 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.

Open for anyone to answer, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Damages from opening in air-conditioned vehicles (6) ABUSES {Ai...d}{BUSES}

5   Spooner briefly activated laser causing unexpected problem (8) REVERSAL {REV}{LASER*}

9   Standard boundless wave that carries electrical charges through air (3,5) PAR AVION {PAR}{wAVe}{ION} Remember these envelopes?

10 Mounts facing west in Colorado Rockies affect rice farming, ultimately (4,2) GETS ON Reverse Tail Acrostic

11 Retired teacher, disheartened by hatred showing inclination to mingle (12) EXTRAVERSION {EX}{Te...eR}{AVERSION}

13 Unknown and complex genetic marker (1-3) Z-DNA {Z}{AND*}

14 Quarantined one very particular about leaving India (8) I?O?A?E? (Addendum - ISOLATED {1}{SO}{DETAiL<=} - See comments)

17 Dongle is fixed obliquely (8) SIDELONG*

18 Fast-spreading disease unsettled China's No. 1 poet (4) OVID cOVID

20 Very boring vacuous, soulless article in abstract mandarin (5,7) CIVIL SERVANT {V} and {Va...uS+ARTICLE+IN}* 

23 Smear butter finally into barbecued meat (6) STREAK {ST{b...eR}EAK}

24 Institution looking to hire head for training (8) STARTING {STAR{Tr...g}ING}

25 Parsees reunite every so often with special offerings (8) PRESENTS {PaRsEeS+rEuNiTe}{S}

26 Discovered American vessel docking in South East Germany (6) SUSSED {USS} in {S}{E}{D}

DOWN

2   Hairy animal breed (4) BEAR [DD]

3   Draw cover of short story with faces of Maugham and Thomas Eliot (9) STALEMATE {Sh..t}{TALE}{Ma...m}{Th...s}{El..t}

4   Devious fellow replaced by chief in Red Cross (6) SHIRTY SHI(-f+r)RTY

5   Singer Doris Day belted out with organ fluidly - it is child's play (4-1-4-1-5) RING-A-RING-O-ROSES {SINGER+dORIS+ORGAN}*

6   Grape farmer starting to vilify restless Norwegian wife eloped with associate (8) VIGNERON {Vi...y}{NORwEGIaN}*

7   Chariots blasted outside hotel (5) RATHS {RAT{H}S}

8   Rueful Australian bard pens journal on Nice deporting outsiders (10) APOLOGETIC {A}{PO{LOG}ET{nICe}

12 Supply of skirts included in free trade (10) ADMINISTER {AD{MINIS}TER*}

15 New soap featuring country's traitors (9) APOSTATES {APO{STATE}S*}

16 Discarded empty flagon filled with essential ingredients of port wine (8) FORSAKEN {Fl..oN} over {pORt}{SAKE}

19 Revolutionary is sad about kidnapping tough American (6) BADASS [T<=]

21 Avtaar ending in trance, breaking down retrograde thoughts (5) IDEAS {I}{SA{t...cE}D<=}

22 Immediately after touching, charge gets drained (4) ONCE {ON}{ChargE}

Reference List

Unknown = Z, Very = SO, India = I, Very = V, Special = S, Germany = D, Fellow = F, Day = D, Wife = W, Associate = A, Hotel = H, Australian = A