No 14636, Tuesday 11 November 2025, Gridzilla

Solution to 4A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered 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 Most attractive officer is trim (3,3) CUT OFF {CUTe}{OFF}

4 Address of number one boarding school (6) ?P?E?H SPEECH{PEE} in {SCH} See comments

8 Public unlikely to avoid bars in general? (7) OVERALL {OVERt}{tALL}

9 Winning's delightful, and in general, inspiring! (7) LANDING [T]

11 Start process to check source of income tax (10) ACTIVATION {ACTION} over {Income}{VAT}

12 Only person in the auditorium? (4) SOLE {~SOUL}

13 & 25 One in a suit is in assistant's room, according to Spooner (3,2,6) ACE OF SPADES Spoonerism of Space of Aide's

14 Write in school about kid topping in exams (8) INSCRIBE {{IN}{S}{C}{RIB}{Exams}

16 Attacks a sailor verbally, on board (8) ASSAULTS {A}+{~SALT}{SAULT} in SS

18 Time to stop marketing this gizmo? (5) PAGER {P{AGE}R}

20 Against America's new tariff increase primarily (4) ANTI Acrostic

21 Is water often served by them? (10) WAITRESSES Letter Bank of {IS WATER}* Semi &Lit

23 Conditions were extremely heart-wrenching (7) WEATHER {WerE}{HEART}*

24 Most rude lout, having something sweet (7) STRUDEL [T]

25 See 13 Across

26 Border security's checking families (6) ORDERS [T]

DOWN

1 Either way, it's local (5) CIVIC <=> Palindrome

2 One wearing headgear drops a European engine driver (7) TURBINE {I} inside {TURBaN}{E}

3 Was full of guilt, and left? (4,5) FELT AWFUL {LEFT}* [RA]

5 Sounds like flat is ordinary (5) PLAIN {~Plane}

6 Right away supply American parts for consumer (3,4) END USER {rENDER} over {US}

7 What an innkeeper may do, to get this type of moustache? (9) HANDLEBAR {HANDLE BAR}

10 With this case, one's turning silent and vicious (5,4) CIVIL SUIT {ONES+CIVIL SUIT}*=SILENT VICIOUS [CA]

13 Police see lead from Norman Bates, to find people who are missing (9) ABSENTEES {SEE+Norman+BATES}*

15 Mohanlal, for one, taking meals without a bit of pepper and salt (9) SUPERSTAR {SUPpERS}{TAR}

17 A little song and a treat arranged around lunchtime (7) ARIETTA {A TREAT}* around {I}

19 General Electric decided to accept Tesla's point (7) GESTURE {GE}{SURE} over {T}

21 Earlier, husband and wife turned up - at which place? (5) WHERE {{ERE}{H}{W}}<

22 Vessels were destroyed by torpedoes ultimately (5) EWERS {WERE}*{torpedoeS}

Reference List

Officer=Off, Bar=T, School=SCH, S, C=About (Circa), On board= in SS(steamer ship) Marketing=PR, European=E, Right=R, American=US, Lunch time=1=I, General Electric=GE, Tesla=T, Husband=H, Wife=W.