No 14843, Saturday 11 July 2026, Incognito

ACROSS
1 Esoteric song by model in administrative office (11) SECRETARIAT {SECRET}{ARIA}{T}
9 A positive friend giving shock (5) APPAL {A}{P}{PAL}
10 Guards dispatched in Welsh centres? (9) SENTINELS {SENT}{IN}{wELSh}
11 Gag mum or dad, for example (10) PALINDROME [Definition By Examples]
12 Behind pig-pen, European gets eye problem (4) STYE {STY}{E}
13 Regrets about commencement of law and regulations (5) RULES {RU{Law}ES}
15 Perhaps, IV needn't be conjured up (8) INVENTED*
17 Reduce vehicle slipping back on piece of land (8) SUBTRACT {BUS<}{TRACT}
19 Manufactured solid items for veneration (5) IDOLS*
22 Piece having can rejected by university (4) UNIT {TIN<}<=>{U}
23 Ponder and take away freedom? (10) DELIBERATE {DE-LIBERATE}

26 Stops bucks consuming tangled net around midday (9) STAGNATES {STAGS} around {NET* over dAy}
27 Setter and doctor drink (5) MEDOC {ME}{DOC}

28 Carrying lever, gets in business units (11) ENTERPRISES {PRISE} in {ENTERS}

DOWN
1 Close tightly around top of pistil and part of calyx (5) SEPAL {SE{Pistil}AL}

2 Settler: "Is with queen" (9) COLONISER {COLON}{IS}{ER}
3 Make certain nurse goes around before commencement of evening (6) ENSURE {NURSE*}{Evening}
4 A mythological creature has name... an honorific name (7) AGNOMEN {A}{GNOME}{N}
5 Egyptian goddess and international leader followed by sister (4) ISIS {International}{SIS}
6 A couple of cricket teams, perhaps, getting two ducks (6-3) TWENTY-TWO {22}

7 Weird dream about papa's piano pedal (6) DAMPER {DREAM*} about P

8 Climb 24 haphazardly carrying canine (6) ASCEND {ANDES*} around {C}
14 Processed Beirut lac and oil (9) LUBRICATE*
16 European spider scampers around top of my immaculate skin's outer layer (9) EPIDERMIS {E}{SPIDER*} around {My}{Immaculate}
17 Crush squid (not dead) near second hydrant (6) SQUISH {SQUId}{S}{H}
18 Maker's reactor blown up (7) CREATOR*
20 Draw small sailing boat (6) SKETCH {S}{KETCH}
21 US brig sails around mountainous stretch of California coast (3,3) BIG SUR*

24 Mountain range in South America and Spain (5) ANDES {AND}{ES}

25 Fly injured emigrant in absence of emir (4) GNAT {emiGrANT}*

REFERENCE LIST

Model=T, Positive=P, European=E, University=U, Setter=Me, Doctor=Doc, Queen=ER(Elizabeth Regina), Name=N, Sister=Sis, Papa=P, Canine=C, Dead=D, Second=S, Hydrant=H, Small=S, Spain=ES.