Crossword for Thursday 10 September 2026

Across

1. 1. OK if shah, not so much if naam
2. 4. Identifiers, or at a mall, reality checks
3. 8. Can be used to measure compensation or speed
4. 9. 8A is one
5. 10. See 4D
6. 11. A milder or simplified version, say
7. 12. You can make one or suffer from one
8. 13. A major sporting tournament
9. 14. abbr. Scheduled payments, with a misleadingly marketed first word
10. 16. Empire preceding the Mauryas
11. 19. Lucky of "Ek Pal Ka Jeena"
12. 22. The "effect" popular in turn-of-the-century armpits
13. 23. Fastener, sometimes made of 20D
14. 25. ____ pick, to complain
15. 26. Record-keeping fizzy drink
16. 27. abbr. Humanity's only truly borderless collaboration, almost
17. 28. (slang) What someone needs to get off, to get work done

Down

1. 1. Obelix's distraction
2. 2. Garhwal slope India learned to ski on
3. 3. A shawl can be, so can a napkin
4. 4. (Hindi) With 10A, a meditator's fidget spinner, perhaps
5. 5. The actor behind the red glass
6. 6. The Hindu "manual" for spiritual liberation
7. 7. The start of something, or to stop something
8. 8. Tractor and watch maker
9. 15. (Hindi/Urdu) Matter
10. 16. (Hindi) Nuskhe giver, achaar maker
11. 17. Germany, Italy and Japan, in the 40s
12. 18. Fours and sixes get denied here
13. 19. Word preceding dealer or race
14. 20. Dupatta border, or a shoe's tie
15. 21. British beer, initially made for long shelf life
16. 24. abbr. Science behind optical fibres and mirages