(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) eXternal’s IoS puzzles are quite a challenge for a Sunday, but I’m not complaining. So thanks for the enjoyment, which I hope others had too. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Poet’s wretched dogs covered in do (7)
ACCURST : CURS(dogs, wretched ones at that) contained in(covered in) ACT(to do;to perform).
Answer: The poetic form of “accursed”;wretched
5 Incline to get aboard vessel free of filth (5,2)
CLEAN UP : LEAN(to incline;to be at an angle from the vertical) contained in(to get aboard) CUP(a vessel).
Defn: As a verb.
9 French island where ties can be renewed (7)
REUNION : Double defn: 1st: With an acute accent, name of the French island in the Indian Ocean; and 2nd: An occasion where old ties can be renewed.
10 Extinct at last, my nemesis, woolly mammoth (7)
IMMENSE : Anagram of(woolly) “my nemesis ” minus “y” and “s”, the last 2 letters, respectively(Extinct at last, …).
11 Cleavage, that is something pleasing (5)
CUTIE : CUT(a cleavage;a fissure) + I.E.(abbrev. for the Latin for “that is”).
Defn: A pleasing and attractive person, especially a girl or a woman, with a part of the attraction for the latter being, well, a cleavage. An amusingly apt surface.
12 Reverend backed when press finds nothing in church (9)
HONORIFIC : Reversal of(backed) < [ IF(when, as in “she purrs if;when I stroke her”) + IRON(to press, eg. clothing) plus(finds) O(the letter signifying 0;nothing) ] contained in(in) CH(abbrev. for “church”) > .
Answer: A title conveying respect, of which Reverend is an example.
13 Open to view, clear bust wobbles (9)
SCRUTABLE : Anagram of(wobbles) CLEAR BUST. Another image-rich surface.
15 Money invested in weird mineral (5)
EMERY : M(abbrev. for “money”) contained in(invested in) EERY(eerie;weird).
Answer: A hard greyish black material used as an abrasive.
16 Retreating piece in chess, traditional board game (5)
DARTS : Hidden in(piece in) reversal of(Retreating) “chess, traditional “. Smoothly hidden.
18 What generous butcher might provide glutton (4-5)
FREE-LIVER : Cryptic defn: Literally, offal that a generous might give away free.
Answer: One who gratifies his/her appetite for food and drink with more than usual freedom.
21 Charm about soldier having time for queen (9)
CAPTIVATE : CA(abrrev. for “circa”;about or approximately when referring to dates and time periods) + “private”(a solder of the lowest rank) with “t”(abbrev. for “time”) replaced by(having … for) “ER”(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, the queen).
Defn: As a verb.
23 Place of shooting and assault (5)
ONSET : Cryptic defn: Reference to a set on which a film may be shot.
24 Extravagant ring gentleman brought back for dish (7)
RISOTTO : Reversal of(brought back) [ OTT(abbrev. for “over the top”;extravagant;in excess) + O(the circular letter representing a ring shape) + SIR(term of address for a gentleman) ].
25 Disabled welcomed in by organisation offering sponsors for walk abroad (7)
ALAMEDA : LAMED(past tense of “to lame”;to disable) contained in(welcomed in by) AA(abbrev. for “Alcoholics Anonymous”, the mutual aid organisation, whose more experienced members act as sponsors for other members to help them understand and follow the recovery programme).
Answer: A public walk shaded with trees in the southwestern region of the USA.
26 European organisation invested in places to buy hammer (7)
MALLEUS : EU(abbrev. for the European Union, the organisation of European states) contained in(invested in) MALLS(complexes of a wide variety of shops).
Answer: The largest of the 3 small bones in the middle ear of mammals, non-technically called the hammer.
27 Under the influence of drugs, dead set to party (7)
SEDATED : Anagram of(to party) DEAD SET.
Defn: …. that calm and soothe you.
Down
1 Wild ox half destroyed northern town in Australia (7)
AUROCHS : “Rochdale”(the town in northern England) minus its last 4 letters(half destroyed) contained in(in) AUS(abbrev. for “Australia”).
Answer: Large wild cattle, the ancestor of the domestic cattle, now extinct.
2 Another suggestion: table leg also needs fixing (15)
COUNTERPROPOSAL : COUNTER(an elongated table, eg. on which food is served and eaten, say, in a cafeteria) + PROP(a leg;a support) + anagram of(needs fixing) ALSO.
3 A setter’s in torn clothing (7)
RAIMENT : A + I’M(contraction of “I am”, as “setter’s” is a contraction of “setter is”, and “I” is the self-referential pronoun for the setter) contained in(in) RENT(torn;with a tear).
4 Fish one decimated when penultimate is caught (5)
TENCH : “tenth”(1 decimated;divided by 10) with its last but one letter changed to(when penultimate is) “c”(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket scores). Should there be an indicator for the replacement of the second “t” in “tenth”? Eg. “Fish ….. is caught instead”, or some such.
5 Customers with legal right in court reported magazine (9)
CLIENTELE : LIEN(a legal right on property) contained in(in) CT(abbrev. for a court of law) + homophone of(reported) “Elle”(the fashion magazine).
6 Having shed sides in the way, nightmarish location for plant (3,4)
ELM TREE : “Elm Street”(the location for the series of “A Nightmare On Elm Street” horror movies) minus the 1st and last letters of(shed sides in the …) “street”(way).
7 Flat‘s very loud during racing event on screen (3-12)
NON-EFFERVESCENT : FF(abbrev. for the musical direction, fortissimo, to play loudly) contained in(during) anagram of(racing) EVENT ON SCREEN.
Answer: If I put on my pedant’s hat, I’d say that “non-effervescent” is to be (or is expected to be) without bubbles right from the start, as with still as opposed to sparkling water, whereas “flat” is to have lost its bubbles or is expected to, but does not, have bubbles, as with flat champagne.
8 Sanctimonious pedantry ends with the involvement of authority (7)
PREACHY : 1st and last letters of(… ends) “pedantry ” containing(with the involvement of) REACH(the range in which power, or authority, is effective, as in “to be within the reach of the law”).
14 Expert on vegetation for cattle (9)
BUFFALOES : BUFF(an expert in a specific field) placed above(on, in a down clue) ALOES(plants of the genus Aloe, or another name for the eaglewood tree).
16 Nowt strange with one of TV duo being on that good form (7)
DECORUM : [ O(letter representing 0;nothing;nowt in dialect in Northern England) + RUM(strange;odd) ] placed below(with … being on that, in a down clue) DEC(Declan Donnelly, one half of Ant and Dec, English comedy and TV presenting duo).
17 Perks up having let out bodily fluid (7)
SPITTLE : Reversal of(up) TIPS(perks;perquisites;additional benefits for, say, a waiter) plus(having) anagram of(out) LET.
19 King admitting to being upset over daughter’s skin-tight garment (7)
LEOTARD : [ LEAR(Shakespeare’s tragic king) containing(admitting) reversal of(… being upset) TO] placed above(over, in a down clue) D(abbrev. for “daughter”).
20 County‘s groovy district? (7)
RUTLAND : [RUT LAND](cryptically, a region;district with plenty of ruts;grooves).
Answer: An English inland county.
22 Legless group knocking back Special Brew (5)
ELAPS : Reversal of(knocking back) [ SP(abbrev. for “special”) + ALE(an alcoholic brew) ].
Defn: A genus of snakes, not drunks. A nicely apt surface.
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The pictures below have unidentified links to the crossword answers.
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)