This puzzle originally appeared in the November 8, 1975, issue.
ACROSS
1 Steal out of it with as little as possible. (5)
4 Might it hang around you unfortunately? (9)
9 Patterned rug of felt, but you might not remember it so. (9)
10 It might be proportionate with it, or a form of it. (5)
11 Given this, there’s evasion of what some dogs do to track. (3-6)
12 It might take pluck to make it, unless it’s part of the speech. (5)
13 Sort of unplugged after a point, but got close. (8,2)
17 It might reveal the record to look certain. (10)
21 Jonson asked her to drink to him, after a fashion. (5)
22 It doesn’t mean one which is often passed—descriptive of certain marriages. (6,3)
23 Carries from set to set in a better way. (5)
24 Is it clear it’s formerly a single set price? (9)
25 What Shiva did, reputedly. (9)
26 Is prolific with sides, by the sound of it. (5)
DOWN
1 Manufacturing rifles shouldn’t get out, possibly. (6)
2 They might be fastened with a tie or snap, but poorly so. (6)
3 The people who collect taxes, but not yours or mine? (6)
4 People with money, as they say, might be ineffectual toys. (8,7)
5 The typical Englishman? Something to beat, with the doctor about on the case of a famous detective. (7,8)
6 Part of the engine connected with the choke? (8)
7 After going to the middle of the circle, any progress must be. (8)
8 Dentures might, but they’re not permanent measures. (8)
14 A mugwump is beyond his intellect, by definition. (8)
15 Is around comparatively tardy, but shuts off. (8)
16 One of those agents tidying things up in McLean serves to make it obvious. (8)
18 Instant importance? (6)
19 Iron, for example, starting in the sixties or seventies. (3,3)
20 Brushes off a chance to make some money on a bet? (6)
Frank W. Lewis