No 14732, Wednesday 04 Mar 2026, Afterdark

 HAPPY HOLI

Rangoli by Gowri

Artwork by Prasanna

Solution to 27A 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   He's back to intelligence bureau at Iowa's capital (7) NAMIBIA {MAN<=}{IB}{IA} Where is the definition? Last A from?

5   Scot, essentially has obsession to live together (7) COHABIT {sCOt}{HABIT}

9   Animal police arrests rowdy ultimately at university (5) COYPU {CO{r..dY}P{U}

10 Type of printer head's black (9) BUBBLEJET {BUBBLE}{JET} Bubble/Head from Beer?

11 Shows in idiot box left Miles squirming (9) TELEFILMS* 

12 Time to be sorry, right and more honourable (5) TRUER {T}{RUE}{R}

13 Name of boy could be Edward or Winston or both (5) EDWIN {ED}{WIN}

15 Strange guards and volunteers regularly seen nude at booth (9) NEWSSTAND {NEW}{SS}{TA}{NuDe}

18 Nasser met Harry in a confused situation (5,4) MARES NEST*

19 Typeface launches withdrawn (5) SERIF<= 

21 Nothing behind toilet sponge (5) LOOFA {FA}<=>{LOO}

23 Annoyed with internal rate of return and income tax, director worried earlier (9) IRRITATED {IRR}{IT} and {D}<=>{ATE}

25 Hector has a new girl, heaven perhaps (7-2) SHANGRI-LA {HAS+A+N+GIRL}*

26 Satisfaction having zero to be dead leading to award (5) PRIZE PRI(+z-d)ZE

27 Recant crazy suggestion to circumvent rule, it could be gallows in the ship (7) Y?R?A?M  (Addendum - YARDARM {M{R}AD}{RAY}<= - See comments)

28 Medical attendant Rosy is heartless in greenhouse, say (7) NURSERY {NURSE}{RosY}

DOWN

1   Confused niece holding knot of an dressing accessory (7) NECKTIE {NEC{KT}IE*}

2   Say, Theresa's outpouring is expressing hesitation about a plant (9) MAYFLOWER {MAY}{FLOW}{ER}

3   Deceive Cliff (5) BLUFF [DD]

4   Name a club redesigning a vehicle (9) AMBULANCE*

5   Blocks suggestion to consume vitamin supplement primarily (5) CUBES {CU{B}E}{Su...t}

6   Spoilt thali with egg given to sister causing bad breath (9) HALITOSIS {THALI*}{0}{SIS}

7   Sexually ambiguous Jack's spouse's essentially small and elegant (5) BIJOU {BI}{J}{spOUse}

8   Educated Suketu tore dossier for contents inside (7) TUTORED [T]

14 Maybe lost again with homesickness (9) NOSTALGIA*

16 Time to use AI in network for principal system of pipes (5,4) WATER MAIN {TERM}{AI} in {WAN}

17 Attack look on skirt, exposing top obscenely (3,6) AIR STRIKE {AIR}{SKIRT+Ex...g}*

18 My meals are sour and sweet (7) MALMSEY*

20 Restless female's primal instincts get nutty ultimately (7) FIDGETY {F}{ID}{GET}{n..tY}

22 Old Malayalee, say, is very happy (2,3) ON AIR {O}{NAIR}

23 Expression in dialect is overly melodramatic for starters (5) IDIOM Acrostic

24 Animal hit by a hunter in the rear (5) TAPIR {TAP}{1}{h...eR}

Reference List

Intelligence Bureau = IB, University = U, Time = T, Right = R, Nothing = FA(Fanny Adams), Director = D, Worried = ATE, New = N, Zero = Z, Dead = D, Rule = R, Knot = KT, Jack = J, Female = F, Old = O