No 14913, Friday 02 Oct 2026, Hypatia

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ACROSS

1   Fine dialect mixed with English (8) DELICATE {DIALECT}*{E}

5   Abridged creator's introduction to song composer (6) BRAHMS {BRAHMa}{Song}

10 A criminal had occasionally seen crime as unrighteousness (7) ADHARMA {A}{HAD*}{cRiMe+As}

11 Completely obsolete or modernised (7) UPDATED {UP}{DATED}

12 Technical expressions representing many subjects, basically (5) TERMS Acrostic &lit

13 Heated and dry cooked to remove water (9) DEHYDRATE*

14 Proposed healthy topic's abandoned (12) HYPOTHETICAL*

18 Spooner's restrained like a hawk in perfect condition (5,2,1,4) SOUND AS A BELL {~bound as a sell to sound as a bell}

21 State of guy trapped in Iran - America conflicts (9) ARGENTINA {GENT} in {IRAN+A}*

23 Fruit sources of original liquor in Venice especially (5) OLIVE Acrostic

24 Divine journey meeting daughter's wish (7) GODLIKE {GO}{D}{LIKE}

25 Tests gold handles (7)  ORDEALS {OR}{DEALS}

26 Tie and dye art's frequently red (6) TENDER {TiE+aNd+DyE+aRt}

27 Long duration of meal regularly converting to energy in motherhood (8) ETERNITY (-ma+e)ETERNITY

DOWN

1   Want samples of handmade art hangings (6) DEARTH [T]

2   Folktale about a husband's city (6) LAHORE {L{A}{H}ORE}

3   Short saint regarded and showed deference (9) CURTSEYED {CURT}{S}{EYED}

4   Dark web expert, reversing role, orders iPod models (8,6) TRAPDOOR SPIDER {PART<=}{ORDERS+IPOD}*

6   Auditor's scanned passport prepared again (5) REDID {(~read)RED}{ID}

7   Cause for condiment that's spicy (3,5)  HOT SAUCE {CAUSE}* [RA]

8   Crafty about vacating unused study without warning (8) SUDDENLY {S{Un..eD}{DEN}LY}

9   First thing to do in a regatta - spare no expenses (4,3,4,3) PUSH THE BOAT OUT [DD]

15 Reject all or derail some tough challenge (4,5) TALL ORDER [T]

16 Snail won second place in running race before (8) ESCARGOT {GOT}<=>{S} in {RACE}*

17 Kipling character united with gang making noise (5,3) GUNGA DIN {U+GANG}*{DIN}

 Though I've belted you and flayed you,
        By the livin' Gawd that made you,
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

— "Gunga Din", lines 82–84

19 Bahraini confused about this desi name (6) BIHARI {BIHARI+A+N}*=BAHRAINI

20 Spirited celebration welcoming onset of Indian year (6) FEISTY {FE{I}ST}{Y}

22 Simple mother lacking time (5) NAIVE NAtIVE

Reference List

English = E, America = A, Daughter = D, Energy = E, Husband = H, Saint = S, Second = S, United = U, About = A, Name = N, Indian = I, Year = Y, Time = T