No 14937, Saturday 31 October 2026, Dr. X

 ACROSS
1 Stuttering? We got heartily drunk - it's difficult to articulate (6,7) TONGUE TWISTER {STUTTERING WE gOt}*
8 Wife enthralled by knocking back European beverages (5) BREWS {S{W}ERB}<
9 Transports ecstasy across Spain by a stretch of water ( 6,3) BERING SEA {B{E}RINGS}{E}{A}

11 Instruct crew to move closer to check railway accident (5,5) TRAIN WRECK {TRAIN}{CREW*}{checK}
12 Come up against fine champion (4) FACE {F}{ACE}
14 Baron, touch irritated by prince's bungle (5,2) BOTCH UP {B}{TOUCH*}{P}
16 A bag containing note with extremely unusual ring (7) ANNULET {A}{N{N}{UnusuaL}ET}

17 Detached portion of old, broken tile in ancient city (7) OUTLIER {O}{U{TILE*}R}
19 Cher is zesty at opening, playing lively compositions (7) SCHERZI {CHER IS Zesty}*
21 King survives, grabs queen's Malayan dagger (4) KRIS {K}{R}{IS}

22 Lacking width - saw's not working (3,2,5) OUT OF WHACK {OUT OF}{W}{HACK}
25 Slow-cooked cut of beef and drink for a soprano and tenor (4,5) RUMP ROAST {RUM}{PRO}{A}{S}{T}
26 Beginning to tipple in the middle of the day? That's unacceptable (3,2) NOT ON {NO{Tipple}ON}
27 Cheetahs ran berserk outside oriental college? It's likely (3,7,3) THE CHANCES ARE {CHEETAHS RAN}* around {E}{C}

DOWN
2 Soft drug in full moon rave is producing effects (7) OPERANT {P}{E} in {O}{RANT}
3 Cured his dengue on time - bless you! (10) GESHUNDEIT {HIS DENGUE}*{T}
4 Stop in English pub across motorway (5) EMBAR {E}{M}{BAR}
5 Line deleted from outstanding part of speech (4,5) WORD CLASS {WORlD}{CLASS
6 Shoot second goal (4) SEND {S}{END}
7 Tangle with nobleman protecting extremely notorious nationalist (7) ENSNARL {E{NotoriouS}{N}ARL} 
8 One treating cardiovascular problem caused by drink outside club's retro bar (4,7) BETA BLOCKER {BEER} outside {BAT<}{LOCK}
10 Stunned by associate spreading news about fraud by head of establishment (11) AWESTRICKEN {A}{NEWS*} about {TRICK}{Establishment}
13 Where airplane's fuel is // readily available (2,3,5) IN THE WINGS [DD]
15 Reckless ultra caught by policeman around atomic plant (9) PORTULACA {ULTRA*} inside {COP<}+A

18 Conquest by US president to seize island near northern side of Hormuz (7) TRIUMPH {TR{I}UMP}{Hormuz}
20 Cooking appliance in a resort malfunctioned (7) ROASTER*
23 Work on twitch relating to the eye (5) OPTIC {OP}{TIC}
24 Reptile amongst metamorphic rocks (4) CROC [T]

REFERENCE LIST

Wife=W, Ecstasy=E, Spain=E, Fine=F, Baron=B, Prince=P, Note=N, Old=O, Ancient City=Ur, King=K, Queen=R (Regina), Width=W, Soprano=S, Tenor=T, Oriental=E (Eastern), College=C, Soft=P (Piano), Drug=E, Full Moon=O, Time=T, English=E, Motorway=M, Line=L, Second=S, Nationalist=N, Associate=A, Atomic=A, Island=I, Work=Op(us).

No 14936, Friday 30 Oct 2026, Dr. X

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ACROSS

1   Screams hysterically about a murder (8) MASSACRE {M{A}SSACRE*}

5   Associate works out after gaining weight every time (6) ALWAYS {A}{LAYS} over {W}

10 Cavort with European after consuming cocaine (5) DANCE {DAN{C}E}

11 Marshal protects a witness (9) SPECTATOR*

12 Crazy men entering a dangerous Indian city (9) MORADABAD {M{OR}AD}{A}{BAD}

13 US-Canada defence org. destroyed a drone leaving base (5) NORAD {DRONe}*

14 Rubbish heap outside fine flat at entrance (6) PIFFLE {PI{F}{Flat}LE}

15 Recital at opening with medley of flutes is soothing (7) RESTFUL {Re...l}{FLUTES*}

18 One way or another, escort entertains old male on vacation (7) SOMEHOW {S{O}{MalE}HOW}

20 Former US president's overture to Epstein in tabloid article (6) REAGAN {R{E}AG}{AN}

22 Starts to holler about vile oppressor causing mayhem (5) HAVOC Acrostic

24 The best thing on menu - our rolls (6,3) NUMERO UNO* 

25 One captivated by perfect maiden (9) UNMARRIED {UNMARR{1}ED}

26 Nervous novice lacks confidence, primarily sheepish (5) OVINE NOVIcE*

27 Robust model eating special pork meatloaf (6) HASLET {HA{S}LE}{T}

28 Come to rest after hosting large shindig at centre from dusk till dawn (3-5) ALL-NIGHT {AL{L}{shiNdig}IGHT}

DOWN

1   Monsieur's wife is nuts about me (6) MADAME {MAD}{A}{ME}

2   Fantastic singers receiving close to twenty million for working together (9) SYNERGISM {S{t...tY}NERGIS*}{M}

3   Where paunchy person's belt buckle might be better than average (5,2,3,5) AHEAD OF THE CURVE [DD]

4   Upset about blood relation being ridiculous (7) RISIBLE {RI{SIB}LE}

6   Start to dance in the raw, loosen up! (3,4,4,4) LET ONES HAIR DOWN {Dance+IN+THE+RAW+LOOSEN}* Semi&lit

7   Concerning some daft errors (5) AFTER [T]

8   Sit astride seat, holding sides of tusker (8) STRADDLE {S{Tu..eR}ADDLE}

9   Ogle after drinking whiskey on date, becoming more lascivious (6) LEWDER {LE{W}{D}ER}

16 Presenting extremely fine American code-breaker (9) FEATURING {FinE}{A}{TURING}

17 Like a small hotel acquired by firm (2,6) AS THOUGH {A}{S}{T{H}OUGH}

19 Improvise with cleverness to enthral stylish girl (4,2) WING IT {W{IN}{G}IT}

20 Modify social media clip about member's retro party (7) REMODEL {RE{M}{DO<=}EL}

21 Secret desire to have a little romp (6) COVERT {COVE{Romp}ET}

23 Repairs anatomical vessel to save military policeman (5) VAMPS {VA{MP}S}

Reference List

Associate = A, Weight = W, Cocaine = C, Men = OR, Base = E, Fine = F, Old = O, Special = S, Large = L, Million = M, Whiskey = W, Date = D, American = A, Small = S, Hotel = H, Stylish = IN, Girl = G, Member = M, Military policeman = MP