‘Tis the time of the year, when crosswords, like other things, get Christmas-y. This one gives a gentle start to the festivities – no hangover and no indigestion, so to speak! Thanks Nutmeg, for the great surfaces and one super &lit. And a Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays to all and yours. Definitions are underlined in the clues. The picture set at the bottom has an unidentified connection with the crossword, and within itself (easier than the last one, I think).
Across
7 What’ll stop you receiving advert for organ? (7)
EARPLUG : PLUG(advertisement) placed after(for) EAR(organ of hearing)
Defn: Device for organ that’ll stop you from receiving advert – a great &lit
8 Spooner’s tutor spotted cat (7)
CHEETAH : Spoonerism of “teacher”,tutor
9 Christmas book dropped by prize giver (4)
NOEL : “Nobel”(Alfred – founder,giver of the Nobel Prize) minus(dropped by) B(book)
10 Well-prepared plans are formed (9)
FOREARMED : Anagram of(plans, as a verb) ARE FORMED
12 Money for tramp (5)
POUND : Double defn. 2nd: as a verb
13 Come on portrait of listener? (4,4)
DRAW NEAR : DRAWN EAR(a portrait of a ear,listener)
15 Uniquely how folk tales begin (4)
ONCE : Double defn: 2nd: Eg. “ONCE upon a time, there lived a giant….”
16 Sacred book in case (5)
BLEST : B(book) LEST(in case,if it should happen)
17 One unfinished match brought back Eastern visitors (4)
MAGI : Reversal of(brought back) [I(Roman numeral one) + GAM(“game”,match minus its last letter(unfinished)
Defn: Famed visitors, three wise men from the East, to the infant Jesus
18 Tory kiss stirred old supporters of House (8)
YORKISTS : Anagram of(stirred) TORY KISS
Defn: Supporters of the Royal House of York, in the Wars of the Roses in olden England
20 Colour that’s no good in neckwear (5)
TINGE : NG(no good) contained in(in) TIE(neckwear)
21 Fond bride straying out of bounds (9)
FORBIDDEN : Anagram of(straying) FOND BRIDE
22 The best toys for children (4)
TOPS : Double defn: 1st: The best, usually in the singular, as in Cole Porter’s You’re The Top. They don’t write lyrics like these anymore!
24 Unguents applied to playground kicks (7)
RECOILS : OILS(unguents) placed after(applied to) REC(short for recreation ground,playground)
Defn: The reaction that a firearm gives you when you let it off
25 Librettist making three times as much in recession (name withheld) (7)
GILBERT : Reversal of(in recession) [TREBLIG{“trebling”(three times as much) minus(withheld) “n”(name)}]
Defn: Sir William, dramatist, humourist and librettist, half of the Gilbert and Sullivan team, responsible for English comic operettas
Down
1 Aura of sanctity from prince with nothing on (4)
HALO : HAL(prince, son of King Henry IV of England, and later to become King Henry V) plus(with…on) O(looks like 0,zero,nothing)
2 A big hand as Paul’s carried off by ape (8)
APPLAUSE : Anagram of(off) PAUL’S contained in(carried…by) APE
3 Swollen, as smokers did (6)
PUFFED : Double defn.
4 Yokel pinching bottom of coquettish bird (8)
PHEASANT : PEASANT(yokel) containing(pinching) H(last letter,bottom in a down clue of “coquettish”)
5 Smallholder from the old country? (6)
YEOMAN : YE(the article “the” in old English) OMAN(country in the Middle East)
6 Oddball‘s Christmas missive? (4)
CARD : Double defn.
11 Put right what stripper did after the act (9)
REDRESSED : Double defn.
12 Quiptic setter’s taken to Christmas show (5)
PANTO : PAN(one of the setters for the Quiptic crossword) plus(taken) TO
14 Reason particular guest’s content (5)
ARGUE : Hidden in(…’s content) particulAR GUEst
16 Pour fat over wretched French jail (8)
BASTILLE : BASTE(noun for liquid used to moisten and flavour meat during cooking, eg. drippings, butter, fat – to digress: Christmas, dinner in particular, reminds me that this word has never been the same for me since someone told me of her friend who had a novel use for a turkey baster – for a DIY AI 🙂 ) containing(pour…over) ILL(adjective, wretched)
17 Boatman and I capsized in Canadian lake (8)
MANITOBA : Anagram of(capsized) BOATMAN plus(and) I
19 Chess champion announcing lack of fish on menu? (6)
KARPOV : Homophone of(announcing) “carp”(fish) “off”(lacking from,not on the menu for now)
Defn: Anatoly, world chess champion 1975-1985, and 1993-1999. Not to be confused with Garry Kasparov who defeated him in the intervening period, and then broke away from the chess governing body, FIDE in 1993 Karpov held the title until 1999 when he himself resigned from FIDE. (And you thought that chess was just a board-game)
20 Raising bar in fixed game (6)
TENNIS : Reversal of(raising) [INN(where one can quench one’s thirst,bar) contained in(in) SET(fixed, as in “the date’s been set”)]
21 Lavish payment rector’s accepted (4)
FREE : FEE(payment) containing(…‘s accepted,is accepted) R(rector)
Defn: Ready or generous in giving,liberal,lavish
23 Late enquiry about queen’s hairdo (4)
PERM : PM(post-mortem,an enquiry into the death of a person, the late so-and-so) containing(about) ER(Elizabeth Regina,queen)
Defn: Short for permanent wave, so-called because the chemicals used caused the hair to curl permanently, sort of.
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1st pic: here ; 2nd and 3rd pics: please see jan@5;; 4th pic: here
Thanks, scchua.
A pretty good Quiptic, with only two or three more intricate clues. I liked NOEL for its clever surface, and GILBERT was also clever. I was less keen on CHEETAH, but then I’m always less keen on Spooner-related clues.
Thank you to Nutmeg.
I don’t remember seeing a Quiptic with a perimeter Nina before, so thank you to Nutmeg for the kind thought, and to scchua for the blog.
Thanks Wanderer for spotting it, and thanks again Nutmeg and apologies for not doing it justice. I must remember to tell myself: “Expect the unexpected”! Missed a Nina yet again!
You weren’t the only one to miss it, scchua! In the time the Quiptic has been blogged here, I can’t ever remember a Nina, so well done and thank you to Nutmeg.
Thanks, scchua, and it was really lovely to meet you in Derby.
It was a delightful crossword, thanks Nutmeg.
I only recognise Harold Wilson – is that Debbie Harry? – are you relating to the Prince Hal clue? I have no idea who the young lawman is or what the bits and bobs are.
Hello again Jan, and nice to hear from you again.
You’re right with the clue connection, and it is Debbie from Blondie. There’s a name for the bits and bobs (Clue: “Hello Dave…”), given in the link that I’ve now added below the picture set. The lawman is a certain strong personality not a million miles from where I am, who got his degree from Cambridge (cf. the other link)
Hmm yes, a few intricate ones, but getable in the end.
You really do have to wonder, given that creating a grid is non-trivial, just how hard it is to create a grid that fits a Nina like that. Thanks for that Nutmeg.
Thank you all for kind comments. As for accommodating Nina in grid, you have to choose the right grid (all fairly short words in this one), it’s fun to do and well worth the effort so long as somebody spots it!
Happy Christmas