No 14774, Wednesday 22 Apr 2026, Vidwan

Solution to 17A 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

7   Creature regularly seen in bazaar, very ominous on the outside (8) AARDVARK {bAzAaR}{D{V}ARK}

9   Counter hijab, a customary covering (6) ABACUS [T]

10 Rush of animal migration, at the outset (4) ZOOM {ZOO}{Mi...n} Animal/Zoo?

11 You kiss and love exuberantly, needing to show attachment to wife in excessive manner (10) UXORIOUSLY {U}{X}{O}{RIOtoUSLY}

12 Fairly huge waves carrying small number (6) ENOUGH {E{NO}UGH*}

14 Get lease negotiated for heirs (8) LEGATEES*

15 Straight one in opposite squad, near slips (4-3-6) FAIR-AND-SQUARE {FA{1}R}{SQUAD+NEAR}* Opposite/far?

17 It may be revealed by a top division (8) ?L?A?A?E (Addendum - CLEAVAGE [C&DD] - See comments)

19 No! Not pleasant to talk about pain reliever (3,3) ICE BAG {nICE}{GAB<=}

21 Fast food cooked by baker, nuts on slice of bread (5,5) DONER KEBAB {DONE}{BAKER*}{Br..d}

22 Hostel day or month (4) DORM {D}{OR}{M}

23 Look around South America for an oil seed (6) SESAME {SE{S}{AM}E}

24 Tiny tree representing the afterlife (8) ETERNITY*

DOWN

1   Monkey's born with a gift (6) BABOON {B}{A}{BOON}

2   American lady tailed the First Gentleman (4) ADAM {A}{DAM} (Correction - {A}{DAMe} - See comments)

3   Indian bureaucrats going to Hong Kong with a Russian lady (8) BABUSHKA {BABUS}{HK}{A}

4   Medieval Chinese dynasty installing a King's assembly (6) MAKING {M{A}{K}ING}

5   Hands-on flight support at all levels (10) BALUSTRADE [CD]

6   Bang on target, oppressor controlled south-eastern Europe (5,3) BULLS EYE {BULL{SE}Y}{E}

8   Intelligent king gained back large advantage (13) KNOWLEDGEABLE {K}{WON<=}{L}{EDGE}ABLE Able from?

13 I am unclear about legislature with single chamber (10) UNICAMERAL*

15 Fellow - a cold at heart recluse, one who hunts with a bird (8) FALCONER {F}{A}{L{C}ONER}

16 Endlessly question holy books expressing one's petty complaints (8) QUIBBLES {QUIz}{BiBLES}

18 Bank letter mentions a piece of jewellery (6) ANKLET [T]

20 Munched over long time to freshen up (6) AERATE {A{ERA}TE}

22 Dead English buried in Scottish city mound (4) DUNE DUNdeE

Reference List

Very = V, Kiss = X, No = N, Day = D, Month = M, South = S, America = AM, Born = B, American = A, Lady = DAM, Indian bureaucrats = BABUS, King = K, Europe = E, Large = L, Fellow = F, Cold = C, Dead = D, English = E