No 14669, Friday 19 Dec 2025, Arden

RULES FOR POSTING COMMENTS FOR FRIDAY ONLY

All those who are not regular commenters but who are rookie commenters or silent followers of the blog are requested to post answers with annotations in the comments section. In your own interest please avoid looking up the answers from the interactive version. Don't hesitate to post your annotations, in case you make a mistake in the annotation someone will correct it with the right annotation.

PLEASE NOTE, SOLUTIONS WITHOUT ATTEMPTING THE ANNOTATIONS WILL BE DELETED

Each commenter is requested to post only 5 answers thereby giving others also a chance to participate. Please provide all your answers in one comment.

Regular solvers/Veterans can post 1 answer each, but after 11 AM only.

ACROSS

1   Wild cat back-biting workers from company, say (8)

5   Start with Buenos Aires randomly in this country (6)

10 Red mark allowed (7)

11 Watch two tennis shots - first missing top line (7)

12 Fish eating - Yankee is making it up (5)

13 Silence over hidden past - it's coined for a single occasion (5,4)

14 Work undone, setter under attack (12)

18 Unearths true form of a game (8,4)

21 Follow a genetic code - otherwise amuse to a sickening degree (2,7)

23 Two points within a point - go back to country (5)

24 A mineral recovered with sun spray... (7)

25 ...brings them together provided that is during sunset (7)

26 Meets as one finally escapes (6)

27 Borders of cloth, strangely no sign of knots (8)

DOWN

1   Take stock stealthily, find way to break law (6)

2   Last string on musical instrument strung up for free (6)

3   Poor Germans accept half lies from those who slander (9)

4   New route, only twice changed? No way! (3,2,4,5)

6   Even extremities, girl will follow (5)

7   Reveals fish inside parallel lines (3,5)

8   Account of stake holding, criminal code (8)

9   Use noun with method - not happy? (4,2,3,5)

15 Dignifying good French upbringing, it's evergreen (9)

16 A salt say grabbing attention (8)

17 She feeds babies that are very small, taking turns somehow (3-5)

19 Could be doing after I get a dye (6)

20 Lay up is for awareness (6)

22 To end it all, you keep this one, don't be angry (5)