No 14919, Friday 09 Oct 2026, Pixie Dust

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ACROSS

7   Oh! This dessert funnily got a hole! (6) GELATO {GELATO+OH}*=GOT A HOLE

8   Study substitute with a bit of terrifying condescension (8) CONTEMPT {CON}{TEMP}{Te...g}

9   Essentially Jacob must stick to this kind of musical instrument (8) ACOUSTIC {jACOb}{mUSt}{sTICk}

10 Scoundrel cycling around Henry, sniffles (6) WHINES {(-s)W{H}INE(+s)S}

11 Master stroke acquiring one British Bar (8) PROHIBIT {PRO}{H{1}{B}IT}

12 Losing face, lamenting and suffering (6) AILING wAILING

13 Live on...smitten! (5,2,4) MADLY IN LOVE {LIVE+ON}* [RA]

18 Authorise a manager to disclose rating in London (6) SEAMAN [T]

20 Perhaps stay fit accepting rule to classify according to a graded scale (8) STRATIFY {STAY+FIT} over {R}

22 Mate regularly ignoring Bishop's corrupt scheme (6) SPOUSE {biShoPs+cOrrUpt+SchEme}

23 Swell! Here batter is safe! (8) INCREASE {IN CREASE}

24 Look, Sir! ET's are to a certain extent backing star? (8) ASTERISK [T<=]

25 Penny chases husband out and hammers (6) POUNDS {P}{hOUNDS}

DOWN

1   Happy boxing copper element (7) MERCURY {MER{CU}RY}

2   Old Russian woman's headscarf (8) BABUSHKA [DD]

3   Spooner's child (middle) in steam bath? (3,3) HOT TUB (~tot hub to hot tub)

4   Blizzard? Fellow is beginning to breakdown and explode (8) SNOWBALL SNOW(-f+b)BALL

5   Delivered grain soap (6) SERIAL (~cereal)

6   Special transparent material protecting primarily exposed organs (7) SPLEENS {SP}{LE{Ex...d}NS}

8   Frequently used tack oils for cylindrical skewer? (8,5) COCKTAIL STICK {TACK+OILS}* [Letter Bank]

14 Hang on! Don't start to tell a story in undies (8) LINGERIE {LINGER}{lIE}

15 Corrupted virtue...so like glass! (8) VITREOUS* 

16 Experiment involving English politician leads to commotion (7) TEMPEST {T{E}{MP}EST}

17 Harry dies of mainly fatigue in part of a cricket field (3,4) OFF SIDE {DIES+OF+Fa...e}*

19 Guy goes around university with date and gets attacked (6) MAULED {MA{U}LE}{D}

21 For starters, roast eggplant chunks in parmesan emulsion (6) RECIPE Acrostic Semi&lit

Reference List

Study = CON, Henry = H, British = B, Rule = R, Penny = P, Husband = H, Fellow = F, Special = SP, English = E, Politician = MP, University = U, Date = D