Don’t Hit Me
by Kegler

Each column contains a square where the Across and Down entries conflict; the conflicting letters, read from left to right, form two words that are synonyms
of each other.  In three other places in the grid, squares contain words that conflict; taken together, the two words in those squares represent the synonyms.

Across 1 Certain servers stop, interrupting trades 8 Brings home fishermen’s equipment 9 Spanish adult resort 10 Notably, Omar Khayyam met Ken, Art, Dotty 12 Monthly payment is torn 14 Erica’s stirring words of sympathy (2 wds) 16 You mentioned sheep 18 View bishopric 19 Beg in Low Church 21 Relative cooked tuna 22 Cut short sharp criticism, per Rev. Spooner’s plan (2 wds) 24 Originally called some telephone extension 25 Watches for favorable votes, we hear 26 Shattering broadcast put things right

Down 1 Yeomen react badly to Japanese rite (2 wds) 2 Impala, perhaps, runs after Chip 3 Run into limitless drama 4 Plastic pet ate carelessly partly thrown up 5 Former English Conservative’s suit 6 Son cut top of chestnut tree for extra money (2 wds) 7 Caramel kept melting in bazaar 11 Actress Campbell-Martin hits a drunk 13 One unusual role in “The Matrix” 15 Academic institution in Honshu ignoring the odds 17 Mecca traveler fooled Jim, for the most part 20 Ron comes up with one dark film 23 Actress Ryan’s jewelry returned

Solution