No 14656, Thursday 04 Dec 2025, Karaoke

Standing-in for Colonel today

Solution to 2 Down 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 answer, if not solved by 1 PM

ACROSS
1 Commercial break, without purpose (6) ADRIFT {AD}{RIFT}
4 Picked up gun with a wish to shadow (3,5) TAG ALONG {GAT<}{A}{LONG}
9 Group constructing a tower over the gateway of a Hindu temple (6) GOPURA {GROUP}*{A}

10 Bond controlling large unit? Good job! (4,4) WELL DONE {WE{L}LD}{ONE}
12 Kill the animal without a bit of sympathy. It's the best medicine (8) LAUGHTER {sLAUGHTER}

13 Avoids dismissal of employees primarily in revolutionary industrial actions (6) SKIRTS {STRIKeS <}
15 Dejected when the crown is lost (11) CRESTFALLEN {CREST FALLEN} My COD
18 Exposed home with darknet illegally (6-5) MOTHER-NAKED*
21 Writer's /sharp-pointed instrument (6) SCRIBE [DD]

22 Lunatic in retreat goes around to tease a lady in court (8) TRIBUNAL {NUT<} around {RIB}+A+L
24 Consumes tea, it's not mostly wasted (4,4) EATS INTO {TEA IT'S NOt}*
25 Little one really new for first class (6) INFANT {INFA(-c+N)T}
26 Bars maintain paying guest accommodations primarily for emergencies (8) STOPGAPS {STOPS} around {Paying Guest Accommodations}
27 Gain height like some cosmic object (6) ASCEND {AS}{Cosmic}{END}

DOWN
1 To some extent, evangelical garden plant (8) ANGELICA [T]

2 Breaches in transports are not for upper-class (8) R?P?U?E?  RUPTURES{R(-a+U)PTURES} See Comments
3 Temporarily keep them in big vacant estate in ruins (3,3,4,5) FOR THE TIME BEING {FORT}{THEM IN BIG EstatE}*
5 Cuts excise duties, withdraws amendment finally (4) AXES {tAXES}
6 Extremely thin foreign banks lend loans with interest (3,4,3,5) ALL SKIN AND BONES*
7 Smells badly, outdoors to be trimmed (6) ODOURS {OUtDoORS}*
8 Fatty substance from European country, I am told (6) GREASE {~GREECE}

11 Payment failed, left without money? Fine (7) PENALTY {PAYmENT L}*
14 Mix gin mainly with beer at fancy bar. It helps solve problems (7) ALGEBRA {AL{Gin}E}{BAR*}

16 Sunscreen may be family fright, Spooner says (8) SKINCARE {Spoonerism of Kin Scare}

17 Corrupted heartlessly but praised excessively (8) ADULATED {ADULterATED}
19 Common people generally lack money to mainly settling tax (6) ASSESS {mASSES}{Settling}
20 Annoyed to hug Romeo in the underground chamber (6) GROTTO {G{R}OT TO}
23 Check position, time to swap top of panel (4) STOP {S(-p+T}O(-t+P}

REFERENCE LIST

Commercial=Ad, Large=L, Lady=L, Unit=One, New=N, Interest=I, Money=M, Romeo=R, Time=T.