No 14765, Saturday 11 Apr 2026, Hypatia

 ACROSS
8 Concerning brand, say (6) REMARK {RE}{MARK}
9 Arab husband entertained by local American and fashionable Italian (8) BAHRAINI {BA{H}R}{A}{IN}{I}
10 Study few drinking bit of mulligatawny soup (9) CONSOMME {CON}{SOM{Mulligatawny}E}

11 Frequently lying around near Google's catchphrase (6) SLOGAN {NeAr GoOgLe'S}<
12 According to Spooner, murderer composed a letter in Mac (8) RAINCOAT Spoonerism of CAIN WROTE
13 Control crazy boss checking employees on vacation (6) OBSESS {BOSS}* around {EmployeeS}
14 City strips housing quarters (7) BENARES {BARES} around{EN}

17 Had story reading in workshop (7) ATELIER {ATE}{LIE}{R}
20 Fakes //reports from Donald, say (6) QUACKS [DD]
22 Assist in problem about Indian fast food (8) BHELPURI {HELP} inside {RUB<} +I

25 Friend had amazing spiritual teacher (6) BUDDHA {BUD}{HAD*}
26 Monkey smashing China cup (8) CAPUCHIN*

27 Softer ballad without piano? That is right! (8) SPONGIER {S{P}ONG}{IE}{R}
28 Approach Argentine banking trust (6) CHARGE [T]

DOWN
1 So elated? Unexpectedly sad (8) DESOLATE*
2 Chiefly pious Anglican rector sermonising and working! (6) PARSON {Pious}{Anglican}{Rector}{Sermonising}{ON} & LIT
3 Amidst break, I'm bowling with arms bent (6) AKIMBO [T]
4 Disapproves //goals (7) OBJECTS [DD]
5 Gradually wind up shape (5,3) PHASE OUT {SHAPE}* [RA]
6 Spark in extremely critical fair fixture (8) CAROUSEL {AROUSE} in {CriticaL}

7 Makes dough per auditor's requirements (6) KNEADS {~NEEDS}
15 Say, driving license confiscated by force in mishap (8) ACCIDENT {ID} in {ACCENT}
16 Overjoyed by each set captain regularly getting caught (8) ECSTATIC {EaCh SeT cApTaIn}{C}
18 Student lacking education gets small income (8) EARNINGS {lEARNING}{S}
19 Enigmatic old boy's remedy (7) OBSCURE {OB'S}{CURE}
21 Appropriates cup, essentially spiking rum initially in drinks (6) USURPS {cUp}{SU{Rum}PS}
23 Look for old darling touring clubs (6) EXPECT {EX}{PE{C}T}
24 Basically. playful animated character munching and nibbling in game (6) PACMAN [Acrostic]

REFERENCE LIST

Concerning=Re, Husband=H, American=A, Italian=I, Quarters=EN {East North}, Reading=R, Indian=I, Piano=P, That is= ie (id est), Right=R, Student=L, Old Boy=OB, Old=Ex, Clubs=C.

No 14764, Friday 10 Apr 2026, Dr. X

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ACROSS

1   Auto part in British base stolen by brash crooks craftily (5,8) SHOCK ABSORBER {B}{E} in {BRASH+CROOKS}*}

8   Help to check small elementary particle (5) BOSON {BO{S}ON}

9   In agreement with old judge confining primarily obnoxious chaps from the right (2,3,4) OF ONE MIND {O}{F{Ob...s}{MEN<=}IND}

11 Contrived outrageous airlift to pick up spies (10) ARTIFICIAL {ARTIFI{CIA}L*}

12 Worry greatly about onset of epidemic (4) FEAR {F{Ep...c}AR}

14 Scold couple of associates receiving fine in Japanese city (7) NAGAOKA {NAG}{A}{OK}{A}

16 Knocking back second drink, jerk becomes pliable (7) ELASTIC {S}{ALE}<={TIC}

17 Fantastic in cameo, getting accolades (7) ENCOMIA*

19 Right time to break disorganised union's strike (3,4) RUN INTO {R} with {T} in {UNION}*

21 Agile secret agent catches leader of renegades (4) SPRY {SP{Re...s}Y}

22 Shrub in fancy patio outside popular lodge (10) POINSETTIA {PATIO}* over {IN}{SET}

25 Cheats to tackle university exam that's most tough (9) ROBUSTEST {ROB{U}S}{TEST}

26 Kid in extremely tense race (5) TRIBE {Ten{RIB}sE}

27 Deceptive behaviour in the comedy industry? (5,8) FUNNY BUSINESS [DD]

DOWN

2   Hack starts to tweet about generating keyword on social media (7) HASHTAG {HASH}{Tw..t}{About}{Ge...g}

3   Diseased cows on farm complicated situation (3,2,5) CAN OF WORMS*

4   Zodiac crashed, leaving 500 lifeless (5) AZOIC ZOdIAC*

5   Snicker about book by a catchphrase inventor (9) SLOGANEER {S{LOG}{A}NEER}

6   Starter of ravioli with fish roll (4) REEL {Ra...i}{EEL}

7   Famous American rapper releasing many new tracks at launch (7) EMINENT {EMINEm}{N}{Tr...s}

8   Problem in bar with siren going wild after consuming drink (5-6) BRAIN-TEASER {BAR+SIREN}*{ over {TEA}

10 Alarming discourse about extremely corrupt members of the board (11) DIRECTORATE {DIRE}{ORATE} over {Co...pT}

13 Cuts over umpire's head, getting century in Australian city (10) LAUNCESTON {LA{Um...r}NCES}{TON}

15 Couple of Americans outside bar wobble around in a weakened state (2,1,3,3) AT A LOW EBB {A}{T}{A}{WOBBLE*}

18 Reindeer in our cabin! Endlessly troublesome (7) CARIBOU {OUR+CABIn}*

20 Fools misbehave in retreat after consuming dope (7) NITWITS {SIN<=} over {TWIT}

23 Gentlemen at estate eating buns (5) NATES [T]

24 Small boy captivated by cool library ID (4) ISBN {I{S}{B}N}

Reference List

British = B, Base = E, Small = S, Associate = A, Second = S, Right = R, Time = T, Popular = IN, University = U, Kid = RIB, 500 = D, New = N, Century = TON, American = A, Bar = T, Small = S, Boy = B