(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) As usual, Brendan has built a mini-theme into his crossword, highlighted in 13,18 across. Enjoyable puzzle, thanks to Brendan. And thanks to PeterO who kindly swapped days with me. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
5 French star having party in pub before closing time (6)
BARDOT : DO(a party;a social function) contained in(having … in) [ BAR(a pub) placed before(before closing) T(abbrev. for “time”) ].
6 Learners that you finally supplied with driving aids (6)
TUTEES : Last letters, respectively, of(finally) “that you ” plus(supplied with) TEES(things you put your balls on to help with your golf drive – I definitely needed more aid than that when I was a learner).
9 Coward’s end is elsewhere in conflict at sea (3,3)
COD WAR : “Coward” with its last letter(…’s end) moved to the 3rd position(is elsewhere in).
Answer: Any one in a series of confrontations in the 1950s and 1970s between the UK and Iceland about fishing rights in the North Atlantic.
10 Minimal intelligence? (8)
MICRODOT : Cryptic defn: Reference to the very small means spies use/used to convey secret information.
11 Youngster‘s finishes counting towards score (4)
TEEN : -TEEN(the suffix that finishes the numbers thirteen to nineteen, counting to twenty;a score).
12 Folder with task organised for dealers (10)
TRADESFOLK : Anagram of(organised) [FOLDER plus(with) TASK] .
13,18 Complete parts of it repeatedly, as in some places here (3,3,2,3,5,3,2)
DOT THE I’S AND CROSS THE T’S : DOT(.) and TEE(t), parts of “it” when written, are repeatedly used in the answers here. To a lesser extent, some answers have to be completed with a repeated letter, whether at the end of or somewhere within the word.
Answer: Literally, to complete writing the 2 component letters of “it”. Figuratively, to complete, ie. to finish the last few details (in addition to the meaning of being meticulous with the details).
21 Unsettled, with low temperature (4)
MOOT : MOO(the lowing sound of cattle) + T(abbrev. for “temperature”).
22 Sit exam – holding it back is extremely silly (8)
DOTTIEST : [DO TEST](sit for an exam) containing(holding) reversal of(… back) IT.
23 A lot of people in the wrong – setter and solver backed out (6)
THRONG : “the wrong ” minus(…out) reversal of(… backed) “we”(the pronoun for setter and solver together).
24 In this way, editor is influenced (6)
SWAYED : Hidden in(In) “this way, editor ” .
25 Uncertainly move infant in discomfort? Not hot, however (6)
TEETER : “teether”(an infant in the teething stage, feeling much discomfort, and giving much discomfort too to its parents) minus(Not …, however) “h”(abbrev. for “hot”).
Down
1 Have a fit, finally, as part of blazing row in town (4,4)
GROW INTO : Hidden in(part of) “blazing row in town “.
2 Over and over again, interrupting journey north for detective (6)
POIROT : O(abbrev. for “over” in cricket) plus(and) O separated and contained in(again, interrupting) reversal of(… north, in a down clue) TRIP(a journey).
Answer: Hercule, Agatha Christie’s famed detective creation.
3 Look for some 12 who deal with cuts (8)
BUTCHERS : Double defn: 1st: Cockney rhyming slang for “look” from “butcher’s hook”, as in “have a butcher’s at the other blog”; and 2nd: Some tradesfolk(answer to 12 across) who buy and sell meat cuts.
4 Good sort including East European in drive (3,3)
TEE OFF : TOFF(a good sort;a gentleman) containing(including) [ E(abbrev. for “East”) + E(abbrev. for “European”) ] .
Answer: To play the first stroke of a golf hole, from the tee, where you’re allowed to use a tee (cf. 6 across).
5 Worker, perhaps, holding up excessively small footwear (6)
BOOTEE : BEE(a social insect, perhaps one from the worker caste) containing(holding) reversal of(up, in a down clue) TOO(excessively;more than required, adequate or proper, as in “you’re too smug”).
Footwear for little people:
7 Mishandled pistol went off (6)
SPOILT : Anagram of(Mishandled) PISTOL.
Defn: Eg. with food past its eat-by date.
8 Tools gripping inside of ear for piercing operations (11)
IMPALEMENTS : IMPLEMENTS(tools) containing(gripping) inner letter of(inside of) “ear “.
14 Bound to find them, oddly, on the left (8)
TETHERED : 1st and 3rd letter of(oddly) “them ” placed above(on, in a down clue) THE + RED(the traditional colour describing those on the political left).
15 Able to figure out true mean, somehow (8)
NUMERATE : Anagram of(somehow) TRUE MEAN.
Answer: Able to use and work with numbers;quantitavely.
16 Skill is found around old part of France (6)
ARTOIS : [ ART(skill) + IS] containing(around) O(abbrev. for “old”).
Answer: A former;old province of northern France.
17 Tree in which rook sits before moving (6)
CORNER : Double defn: 1st: To force into a difficult position, from hunting, where prey may be “treed”, literally forced up a tree, and hence, “to be up a (gum) tree”; and 2nd: The position on the chess board in which the rook sits before the start of the game.
19 First section’s set up for governor once (6)
SATRAP : Reversal of(set up, in a down clue) [PART A](the first section)‘S.
Answer: The governor of a province once in ancient Persia.
20 Piece of furniture in which to put a kind of shirt (6)
SETTEE : SET(to put upon, say, a table) + TEE(short for a kind of outer or inner shirt, short-sleeved and collarless).
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These pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle.
Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.
[[In picture 2, the Coat of arms features ‘impalements’ and, probably coincidentally, the Arms of Artois also feature the Fleur de Lys. Is that right (for a change)
By the bye, ‘Artois’ made me think of ‘Allo, Allo’ and the wonderful ‘Menage Artois’ which I always thought was a great, if rather obvious, pun.
Thanks for continuing with the quiz]].
#1 is obviously the Wessexes – is the little one wearing a BOOTEE?
#3 is a boat with a Lateen sail, like a dhow
#4 is Serge Gainsborough and Jane Birkin; Serge wrote Je t’aime for Brigitte Bardot and co-performed it with her and with Jane
#5 looks like it has something to do with desire as #6 is Brando and Malden from ‘A Streetcar Named Desire.’ Is that related to BB, an object of desire?
Perhaps the boat is a Nile boat related to Poirot’s Death on the Nile??
#5 She’s having a disturbed night due to teething (he, perhaps typically, isn’t).
#6 Stanley Kowalski’s wife in “Streetcar” is called Stella – remember Brando’s yell? – so a connection to the reassuringly expensive lager.
Just popped in here to show support for scchua’s picture quiz, though (as usual) I can’t solve any.
Same as muffin @5. Keep it up scchua. Has the Stalinist Tendency declared the quiz illegal? Enjoyment is frowned upon. No larfin ‘ere. By order.
Hi all, so far…
Pic2 IMPALEMENT, the union of 2 coat of arms side by side,
Pic4 Gainsbourg did Je t’aime…moi non plus with BARDOT before Birkin – I think the latter’s heavy breathing sounds more real,
Pic6 That was the cast from A Streetcar Named Desire, with Kim Hunter playing Stella Dubois, not ARTOIS. Well done.
Pic1 connection to BOOTEE, but not via the little one,
Pic3 connection is via the boat, but not Poirot,
Pic5 she’s something, maybe not disturbed as such.
And thanks for rallying…not quite illegal as NIMBY (my?). But no matter.
Pic 5 Aha – I think. Unsettled?
Clark’s apparently make a Wessex bootie – any good??
stanyel and Robi, sorry, not warm yet.
Nice to know you are still baffling us scchua, I can’t add to what’s already been said.
The two photos posted below TEEN:
The one on the left shows Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in one of their several movies together.
The one on the right is from the Breakfast Club, a bunch of (five) disparate teeneage high school students who get stuck togerther in detention on a Saturday, and who become close friends by actually talking to each other
Infrequent visitor here and , like others, not got anything much to add; but wanted to support and acknowledge your effort in keeping the picture quiz going. And some great explanations here for some really fun clues. Thanks to scchua and to Brendan.
Edward and Sophie were told to leave their jobs by the Queen
Sounds like they were “bootees” (booted out)
Many thanks for your encouragement, jvector, both about the picture quiz and the explanations. Unfortunately, things being what they are, you’d have to post that part about the clues and setter in the other blog, to ensure they are read by the “others” as well. Sorry that that means a little more inconvenience, but hope you’ll understand.
Hi all, I’ll be back later with answers to the rest.
Late to the party but good to see it in full swing.
#3 the boats are settees (or at least they are rigged that way) – to Nancy Mitford and Hyacinth Bucket they’re sofas of course.
Yes, JollySwagman, those are boats with lateen or SETTEE sails.
Pic1: BOOTEE(the footwear) is also spelled “bootie”, which is slang for a Royal Marine, which Prince Edward was for a while, a royal Royal Marine if you like.
Pic5: She’s obviously TEEd OFF, perhaps expecting a cuddle but he’s fallen asleep, after it – the difference between the male and the female sex.
I’m supporting the feelings expressed in comment Number 5 and its ilk. Well done and thank you for the extra enjoyment.