(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) This was an enjoyable puzzle from Hectence, with bits of it reminiscent of a Cryptic. There were lots of letter deletions used in the clues, and some might find this, perhaps, too much of a good thing after a while. Thanks to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Eatery has starter of rissoles in gravy (6)
BISTRO : 1st letter of(starter of) “rissoles ” contained in(in) BISTO(the UK brand named product for thickening, flavouring and browning gravy).
5 Snag with Thailand ending revolutionary conflict has Obama losing heart (8)
DRAWBACK : Last letter of(… ending) “Thailand ” + reversal of(revolutionary) WAR(a conflict) plus(has) “Barack”(Obama, US president) minus its middle letters(losing heart).
9 Made non-starter sequel to hit space adventure (8)
ESCAPADE : “Made ” minus its 1st letter(non-starter) placed after(sequel to, in an across clue) anagram of(hit) SPACE.
10 Paganini endlessly suffering heart disease (6)
ANGINA : Anagram of(suffering) “Paganini ” minus its 1st and last letters(endlessly).
11 Circle around loo in place where getting runs is likely! (4)
OVAL : O(the letter representing a circle) + reversal of(around) LAV(short for “lavatory”;in slang, loo).
Defn: The historic cricket ground where batsmen get runs (not the runs).
12 He organises shooting sessions with goalie after match (10)
GAMEKEEPER : KEEPER(short for “goalkeeper”;a goalie, in, say, football) placed after(after, in an across clue) GAME(a sporting match).
Defn: … where wild game are shot.
13 Creepy-crawly, pointlessly biting fellow, spread disease (6)
INFECT : “insect”(a creepy-crawly) minus “s”(abbrev. for the compass point, south)(pointlessly) containing(biting) F(abbrev. for “fellow”).
14 Identify O’Connor’s house by Finisterre (8)
DESCRIBE : DES(O’Connor, British singer and TV personality) + CRIB(a small house;a cottage) plus(by) last letter of (Finis;the finish;the end) “terre “. And Finisterre is in Spain, the abbrev. for which is “E”(Espana).
16 Old joke about chicken crossing street even aunt will follow (8)
CHESTNUT : C(abbrev. for “circa”;about with reference to time periods) + HEN(a chicken when it’s grown a bit) containing(crossing) ST(abbrev. for “street”) placed before(… will follow, in an across clue) 2nd and 4th letters of(even) “aunt“.
19 Remove tab from veritably hideous uniform (6)
LIVERY : Anagram of(hideous) “veritably ” minus(Remove … from) “tab “.
Defn: …, worn by some menservants and chauffeurs.
20 Touched by advice on page and print spacing from writer (4-3,3)
FELT-TIP PEN : FELT(touched) plus(by) TIP(a piece of advice) plus(on) P(abbrev. for a page, say, in a book) plus(and) EN(in printing, a unit of measurement of spacing, equal to one-twelfth of an inch).
Defn: A writing implement.
22 Capable of power in workout (2,2)
UP TO : P(abbrev. for “power” in physics) contained in(in) anagram of(work) OUT.
23 Composer from Denmark hosts ball in Victoria and Albert’s capital (6)
DVORAK : DK(international code for Denmark) containing(hosts) < [ O(the shape of a ball;a 3-dimensional circle) contained in(in) VR(abbrev. for “Victoria Regina”, Queen Victoria) ] plus(and) 1st letter of(…’s capital) “Albert “>. The last to be parsed.
24 Sneaky way out of swimming baths back to house on banks of lake (8)
LOOPHOLE : Reversal of(back) POOL(swimming baths) plus(to) HO(abbrev. for “house”) plus(on) 1st and last letters of(banks of) “lake “.
25 Create purpose in green movement (8)
ENGENDER : END(a purpose;an objective) contained in(in) anagram of(… movement) GREEN.
26 Some native deer are strangely the least widely known (6)
RAREST : Hidden in(Some native) “deer are strangely “.
Down
2 Batting side initially happening to get man into safe area is over the moon (2,7,6)
IN SEVENTH HEAVEN : IN(descriptive of the cricket side taking its turn at bat) + 1st letter of(initially) “side ” + EVENT(a happening) plus(to get) [ HE(pronoun for a man) contained in(into) HAVEN(a safe area, as in a “tax haven”) ].
3 Endlessly groom large dog (5)
TRAIL : “train”(to groom;to prepare, say, for a job position) minus its last letter(Endlessly) + L(abbrev. for “large”].
Defn: To follow, as a dog might.
4 Primate managed to get godhead into published article (5-4)
ORANG-UTAN : [ RAN(managed, say, a commercial concern) plus(to get) 1st letter of(…head) “god ” ] contained in(into) OUT(published, as in “is her new book out?”) + AN(an indefinite article in grammar).
Defn: … , in the local language, “man of the forest”.
5 Imagined setter in fear! (7)
DREAMED : ME(self-referential pronoun for the setter) contained in(in) DREAD(a great fear of).
6 Need to pursue a cry of woe (5)
ALACK : LACK(a need;not having) placed below(to pursue, in a down clue) A.
7 Worst fear is a computer problem to put up with (7)
BUGBEAR : BUG(a computer problem in a programme, leading to user fear and loathing) + BEAR(to put up with;to tolerate, eg. computer bugs).
Defn: A thing that causes obsessive fear or anxiety.
8 Can’t betray rules set out for pilgrims’ stories (10,5)
CANTERBURY TALES : Anagram of(set out) CAN’T BETRAY RULES.
15 Cockney chars raised whip-round with brilliance (9)
SPLENDOUR : Reversal of(raised) ‘ELPS(Cockney for “helps”;ladies who clean homes or offices;chars) + anagram of(whip) ROUND.
17 Deliver TV for nothing (3,4)
SET FREE : SET(a TV) + FREE(for nothing;gratis).
Defn: To rescue from a bad situation.
18 Drunkard, having left after double parking, got into row (7)
TIPPLER : [ L(abbrev. for “left”) placed below(after, in a down clue) twice(double) P(abbrev. for “parking”) ] contained in(got into) TIER(a row;a rank, placed one behind or above another).
21 King aboard rough ride gets irritated (5)
IRKED : K(abbrev. for “king”) contained in(aboard) anagram of(rough) RIDE.
22 Escort American girl (5)
USHER : US(abbrev. for things American) + HER(pronoun for a girl).
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)
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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle.
Stumped on the puzzle. The nearest I can get is that some dalmatian dogs have brown spots and are describer as liver spotted, but I think that is unlikely to be the link. Thanks for the quiz though.
#1 Ukrainian protest – any connection with DVORAK who lived in the Austrian Empire that included the Ukraine?
2. Female Argentinian football supporter [in need of a supporter too 😉 ]
3. Monica Lewinsky – Clinton’s ESCAPADE?
4. Nat King Cole’s Christmas song – ‘CHESTNUTs roasting on an open fire’
5. Dalmatians – more Eastern Europeans?
6. Weatherboard barn with arrow slits?
7. Yes, it’s a chessboard!
8. These pigeon’s might be TIPPLERs
7. The knight in the Wife of Bath Canterbury Tale or the Knight’s Tale
6. A LOOPHOLE can be a small hole in a fortified wall; for observation or discharging weapons
2. Football LIVERY?
1: Ukranian protest rally demanding the Russians DRAW BACK?
7: Tippler is a variety of pigeon
3: Monica Lewinski , what was she UP TO? She first DREAMED of glory, became Clinton’s ESCAPADE, then his BUGBEAR, and finally USHERED in a new definition of what sex isn’t!
George Clements, Robi and Freddy, so far correct with:
4. Nat King Cole in Christmas mood with “CHESTNUTs roasting…”
6. Arrow slits are also known as LOOPHOLEs
8. TIPPLER pigeons are bred for their endurance in just flying round.
Hints:
1. Not just Uraine but its capital in particular
2. Alternatively I was looking for an Uruguayan supporter but couldn’t find one more interesting than the Argentinian
3. It’s Lewinsky AND Clinton (what else could it be?)
5. That’s Mr. And Mrs. Dog (the answer is not 3 down)
7. What’s next?
3. Clinton & Lewinsky shenanigans in the OVAL office?
Right, Robi! Lewinsky and Clinton having not-sex in the OVAL Office.
7: SEVENTH HEAVEN is a chess term, referring to the feeling of power at the potential carnage you could wreak on moving your rook to the 7th row (or pawns belonging to your opponent)
6: So far, all I’ve been able to find out about Mr and Mrs Dog is that they are/were sheepdogs (Collies), and as such could be said to USHER sheep
2: ANGINA is a Spanish word which, while meaning ‘tonsil,’ is also slang for what’s most prominently on display in Agentine colours (and what Robi alluded to)
1: Could this be it? The unofficial logo of Kiev (location in photo) is the CHESTNUT, according to this website: Top Facts About Kiev
Freddy, you’re right about Kiev and the CHESTNUT tree. The dogs are dalmations as Robi said, but a particular couple. And it’s linked to the same answer as another of the other 2 remaining pictures.
Pic2: Partially hidden by what you’ve been looking at (tonsil) is the Sun of May, with smiling face and straight and wavy rays, appearing on both the Argentinian and Uruguayan flags, and same in form as the Sun in SPLENDOUR in European heraldry.
Pic5: That’s Pongo and missus, Perdy, from 101 Dalmatians. Pongo is the genus to which ORANG-UTANs belong.
Pic7: The Sokolsky opening move in chess , also became known as the ORANG-UTAN opening when a tournament player insisted that an orang-utan at the zoo somehow indicated to him that that was the move he should make (the game was drawn).
Thanks scchua; I would never have got 2&7, despite playing chess – never heard of ORANG-UTAN opening. I got Pongo & Perdy but forgot the connection to the ORANG-UTAN.
Thanks scchua – I did get as far as Pongo and Perdy but the trail ran cold.