No 14766, Monday 13 Apr 2026, Hypatia

Solution to 26A 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   Possible to say, trade in scrap (6) CANCEL {CAN}{(~sell)CEL)

4   Bird herding two tailless animals (6) BULBUL {BULl}{BULl}

9   Fervent cry (4) KEEN [DD]

10 Complain about broken locks? (5,5) SPLIT HAIRS {SPLIT}{HAIRS}

11 Associate litigation relating to a court (6) ATRIAL {A}{TRIAL}

12 Spooner's bag hit chair behind the driver (4,4) BACK SEAT (Sack beat to back seat)

13 Agatha Christie novels and plays with sound (9) WHODUNITS*

15 Basically headgear - also topis sometimes (4) HATS Acrostic &lit

16 Hard to take over in say, Kohli's steps (4) GHAT G(-o+h)HAT

17 Herb's running after terrible game (9) BADMINTON {MINT}{ON}<=>{BAD}

21 Activate new TiVo to entertain couple (8) MOTIVATE {M{TIVO*}ATE}

22 Country dividing drug and alcohol (6) UGANDA [T]

24 Charming food shop's extremely garish bar's nearly crowded (10) DELIGHTFUL {DELI}{Ga..sH}{T}{FULl}

25 Has topless dresses (4) OWNS gOWNS

26 Without consuming drugs, model's most balanced (6) S?N?S? (Addendum - SANEST {SAN{E}S}{T} - See comments)

27 Peacekeeper's soldiers taking a line that's imaginary (6) UNREAL {UN}{RE}{A}{L}

DOWN

1   Spotted cat that's reportedly a rogue (7) CHEETAH (~cheater)

2   Sacred bull treasured by Pakistan and India (5) NANDI [T] 

3   Reverse speech impediment in time for character in Greece (7) EPSILON {E{LISP<=}ON}

5   A small increase in uniform cost, ultimately included in selection (6) UPTICK {U}{P{cosT}ICK}

6   Snake was pickled in can for sailor (9) BOATSWAIN {BOA}{T{WAS*}IN}

7   Frequently use that in really round ropes (7) LARIATS {uSe+ThAt+In+ReAlLy}<=

8   Anything goes in Easter ball (3,4,3,3) ALL BETS ARE OFF {EASTER+BALL}* [RA]

14 Registered ardent interest primarily in rare and ethnic group (9) DRAVIDIAN {R}{AVID}{In...t} in {AND}*

16 Merchants following Government's rule score unexpectedly (7) GROCERS {G}{R}{SCORE}*

18 Sentimental old lady, underrated, discontented about nothing (7) MAUDLIN {MA}{Un...eD}{NIL<=}

19 Spoken without sound for a second, say (7) ORDINAL {OR{DIN}AL}

20 Oddly, Bhatt shoots for anticlimax (6) BATHOS {BhAtT+sHoOtS}

23 Chiefly aloft, beyond or vertically elevated! (5) ABOVE Acrostic & lit

Reference List

Associate = A, Hard = H, Over = O, Bar = T, Drug = E, Model = T, Soldier = RE(Royal Engineers), Line = L, Uniform = U, Registered = R, Interest = I, Government = G, Rule = R