No 14579, Wednesday 03 Sep 2025, VMA Nair

Solution to 1D 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 solve, if not solved by 1 PM.

ACROSS

1   Doctor and lecturer visiting a filthy place chiefly (6) MOSTLY {MO}{ST{L}Y}

4   Research facility backs right kind of boot (8) BALMORAL {LAB<=}{MORAL}

9   Case of Avion tequila initially stored in nightclub (6) DATIVE {D{Av..n}{Te...a}IVE}

10 King Edward wears black ties and leather flaps (8) BLINKERS {B}{LINK{ER}S}

12 Able to walk in the morning with a blunt ruffian (8) AMBULANT {AM}{A+BLUNT}*

13 Rush in ward and emergency room (6) CAREER {CARE}{ER}

15 Hector is excitedly drinking gin in part of theatre where musicians sit (9,3) ORCHESTRA PIT {HECTOR+IS}* over {TRAP}

18 Characteristic of unusually icy roads in Seychelles (12) IDIOSYNCRASY {ICY+ROADS+IN}*{SY}

21 Make mysterious object to control company executives at entrance (6) ENCODE {EN{CO}D}{Ex...s}

22 Part of fruit is originally eaten by a fish (8) PERICARP  {Is} in {PER}{CARP}

24 I love to cook stew avoiding second-class cooking ingredient (5,3) OLIVE OIL {I+LOVE}*{bOIL}

25 Roman Catholic traditions primarily broken by priest and widow once (6) RELICT {R{ELI}C}{Tr...s} Can one be a widow twice?

26 Charlie, I am developing unique piece of clothing that women wear (8) CAMISOLE {C}{I+AM}*{SOLE}

27 Restless opener for Tasmania cutting a piece of cake after end of play (6) YEASTY {EAS{Ta...a}Y}<=>{plaY}

DOWN

1   Judge found soldiers restricting service from the south (8) M?D?A?O? (Addendum - MEDIATOR {ME{AID<=}T}{OR}

2   Terribly sick bat devours a piece of strawberry and relaxes (4,4) SITS BACK {SICK+BAT}* over {St...y}

3   Cool leader of Latvia badly needed a vessel to tour Hungary (5-10) LEVEL-HEADEDNESS {La...a}{NEEDED+A+VESSEL}* over {H}

5   Get rid of large parts in shaft (4) AXLE {AX{L}E}

6   New chairman needs to grasp popular language (8,7) MANDARIN CHINESE {CHAIRMAN+NEEDS}* over {IN}

7   Guide seizes ecstasy and marijuana cigarette (6) REEFER {RE{E}FER}

8   Temptation to arrest saint for fame (6) LUSTRE {LU{ST}RE}

11 Ointment business needing no introduction (7) UNCTION fUNCTION

14 Mineral deposit coming up behind courtyard (7) BARYTES {SET<=}<=>{BAR}{Y}

16 Fancies a centre for night shifts outside (8) VAGARIES {V{A}{niGht}ARIES}

17 Understanding extremely scary marks on road close to highway (8) SYMPATHY {ScarY}{M}{PATH}{h...aY}

19 Bold, hot and sexy with no hint of timidity (6) HEROIC {H}{EROtIC}

20 Heads of state could have influenced social media division (6) SCHISM Acrostic

23 Use lira instead of krone and pound (4) MILL MIL(-k+l)L

Reference List

Lecturer = L, Nightclub = DIVE, Black = B, King Edward = ER, Emergency Room = ER, Second-class = B, Roman Catholic = RC, Charlie = C, Soldiers = OR, Large = L, Popular = IN, Saint = ST, Court = BAR, Yard = Y, Marks = M, Hot = H, Lira = L, Krone = K