No 14487, Saturday 17 May 2025, Afterdark

 ACROSS
9 Decorates cot, kisses and leaves the first partner (7) BEDECKS {BED}{pECKS}
10 Heard you returned bull and collected money, it's wifelike (7) UXORIAL {U(~you)}{OX<}{RIAL}
11 Weird HQ note taken primarily in secrecy (2,3,2) ON THE QT {HQ NOTE Taken}*
12 Corruption in bank? Book removed and cooked noticeably (7) KNAVERY {bANK}*{VERY}
13 Toy traded by Electrical Engineer (5,4) TEDDY BEAR* {TRADED BY Electrical}* E for Electrical is not there in Chambers

15 Debut in first test, Rohit to hit out (5) INTRO {IN}{Test}{ROhit}
16 Woke up bloodshot, of a bluish colour (4-3) ROSE-RED {ROSE}{RED}
19 Shrink showcasing success in national television's lady (European) (7) DWINDLE {D{WIN}D}{L}{E}
20 Beats wife and flies (5) WHOPS {W}{HOPS}
21 Out of den, Bin Laden gave explosive unobstructed (9) NAVIGABLE {BIN LAden GAVE}*
25 Note missing in rent money as per second hearing (7) RETRIAL {REnT}{RIAL}
26 Insects' pictures shows egg inside (7) IMAGOES {IMAG{O}ES}

28 White horse in the front is an expresser of disgust, lets out a neigh (7) WHICKER {White}{Horse}{ICKER}
29 Rising frost worried Islamic nation (7) EMIRATE {RIME<}{ATE}

DOWN
1 Recede from battle with electricity board (3,3) EBB OUT {BOUT}<=>{E}{B}
2 Perhaps our bosses have a Tesla; reordered (6) EDITED {ED}{I}{T}{ED}
3 UK school certificate changes, Chinese is removed and edited (4) GCSE {ChanGES}*
4 Fly with group in empty turbojets above earth (6) TSETSE {Turbojet{SET}S}{E}
5 Stud made a mistake, lost rupees and hid out (8) HUNKERED {HUNK}{ERrED}
6 Concentrating on LOC is in, managed by a Lieutenant Governor (10) LOCALISING {LOC}{A L{IS}{IN}G}
7 Divided group, led by gender-ambiguous person, met the journo (8) BISECTED {SECT}<=>{BI}+{ED}
8 Deposit millions in the centre, it's mine (8) CLAYMORE {C{LAY}{M}ORE}
14 Standards of dirty casks terrible (10) YARDSTICKS*
16 We are (in the centre) aware of strange tree (4-4) REWA-REWA {WE aRe AWARE}*

17 Oddly Smith is wearing glasses, primarily elegant and suave man (8) SMOOTHIE {SM{OO}THI*}{Elegant}
18 Doctors hold viewpoint on promotional materials (8) DANGLERS {D{ANGLE}RS}
22 Asserts that sins will leave a void inside (6) VOICES {V{O}ICES}
23 All the plant & animal life in a region have boron traces (6) BIOTAS {B}{IOTAS}
24 Listener captivating police officer and engineer simpler (6) EASIER {EA{SI}{E}R}
27 Sailor has sex appeal just a small part (1,3) A BIT {AB}{IT}

REFERENCE LIST

Book=B, National Television=DD (Door Darshan), Lady=L, European=E, Wife=W, Note=N, Egg=O, Electricity Board=EB, Tesla=T, Earth=E, Rupees=R, Lieutenant Governor=LG, Gender-ambiguous person=BI (sexual), Millions=M, Glasses=OO, Doctors=DRs, Boron=B, Void=nothing=O, Engineer=E, Sailor=AB(Able-Bodied (seaman)), Sex appeal=It.