No 14747, Saturday 21 Mar 2026, Vidwan

 

Artwork by Prasanna

ACROSS

8 Inflame and captivate royal for good! (6) ENRAGE {EN(-g+R)RAGE}
9 Wheels for hire arranged near cart (4-1-3) RENT-A-CAR*
10 Bond's report (8) RELATION [DD]
11 Rub me! I do soak in blood! (6) IMBRUE*
12 Love to bat in ground net (6) OBTAIN {O}{BAT IN*}
14 Large and small soldiers, compatriots (8) LANDSMEN {L}{AND}{S}{MEN}
15 Slice of French tea, rolls and cheese (4) FETA {French}{TEA*}
17 Gag poor thing with leaves (5) RETCH  {wRETCH}
18 Work on small ebbing form of precipitate (4) SNOW {W}{ON}{S}<
20 Something that starts meal over a beer at times (8) LAUNCHER {L{A}UNCH}{bEeR}
22 Interlocks trenches around a city (6) PLAITS {P{LA}ITS}
24 Most unhinged fellow from Edinburgh, wasting time, painting (6) FRESCO {FREe}{SCOt}

25 Charity programme, say mostly on the broadcast (8) TELETHON {TELl}{ON THE*}
27 Judge in the style of writer, with love for spice (8) JALAPENO {J}{A LA}{PEN}{O}

28 Lady disregarding a new club creature (6) WOMBAT {WOM(-a, -n +BAT)BAT

DOWN

1 Permit fee for a drain (8) ENFEEBLE {EN{-a+FEE)FEEBLE}
2 Father cultivated a yard for a tropical fruit (6) PAPAYA {PAP{A Y*}A}
3 Half of South European spy agency (4) SEMI {S}{E}{MI}
4 Sir, let Tarantino start to render in different script (15) TRANSLITERATION* 
5 English knight features in a junior posting in American Navy (10) ENSIGNSHIP {E}{N}{SIGNS}{HIP}
6 Coaches chasing one and a million metrical feet (8) IAMBUSES {BUSES}<=>{I}{A}{M}
7 World is new and bit anarchic? Sadly true! (6) NATURE {N}{Anarchic}{TRUE*}
13 King or a throne representing a state (5,5) NORTH KOREA {K OR A THRONE}*

16 Main case about loss of hard disk? (8) AMNESIAC* Nice definition!
19 Ordinary friend having one in hundred non-obligatory choice (8) OPTIONAL {O}{P{T{I}ON}AL}
21 Channels of supply from heart of America! Gold with unlimited stash! (6) AORTAS {A}{OR}{sTASh}
23 Allergy syndrome that hampers man's aspirations basically (6) ASTHMA [Acrostic] &LIT
26 Dirty work, replacing a clue! (4) LEWD {LE(-a+W)WD}

REFERENCE LIST

Royal=R, Good=G, Love=0=O, L=Large, Small=S, With=W, Work=W, Judge=J, New=N, Yard=Y, South=S, European=E, English=E, Knight=N, Ordinary=O, One=1=I, America=A, Gold=OR.