(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A straightforward puzzle, until left with a couple in the NW quadrant, which took slightly longer, and specifically 2 down, where I had to seek professional help to parse the answer I had. Thanks for that help. And thanks to Jason. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Some can’t get none of this legal payment (12)
SATISFACTION : Double defn: 1st: Cryptic reference to “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones – I think, judging by the double negative usage; and 2nd: In law, what is paid in discharging an obligation, eg. a debt.
8 A place to exhibit high heavenly home (7)
OLYMPIA : Double defn: 1st: The exhibition centre in London; and 2nd: In Greek mythology, the mountain which was the home of the gods.
9 Small ring round front of popular company’s logo (7)
SCALLOP : S(abbrev. for “small”) + CALL(to ring on the phone) + O(the letter representing things round) + 1st letter of(front of) “popular “.
Defn: … of Royal Dutch Shell plc.
11 Women in California natter on runway (7)
CATWALK : W(abbrev. for “women”) contained in(in) [ CA(abbrev. for California State) + TALK(natter;idle chatter or gossip).
Defn: … on which fashion models walk up and down, or stumble even.
12 Call round with a wink (7)
TWINKLE : TINKLE(a telephone call, from the days when telephones made a ringing sound) containing(round) W(abbrev. for “with”).
Defn: … like stars in the sky do.
13 Gets rid of jazzman’s instrument, as listener implies (5)
SACKS : Homophone of(as listener implies) “sax”(short for the saxophone, an instrument for, say, a jazz musician)
14 Solo needs to be tied up . . . . as do these (5,4)
LOOSE ENDS : Anagram of(.. to be tied up) SOLO NEEDS.
Defn: … need to be tied up, figuratively.
16 A box and a grand American vegetable (9)
ASPARAGUS : A + SPAR(in boxing, to fight using light blows) plus(and) A + G(abbrev. for a “grand”, a sum of 1000 dollars or pounds) + US(abbrev. for all things American).
19 Bit of brass to annoy the French (5)
BUGLE : BUG(to annoy;to pester) + LE(French for “the”).
Defn: … fashioned into a wind instrument, as part of, say, the brass section of a military band.
21 Peace song‘s fancy picture (7)
IMAGINE : Triple defn: 1st: … written and performed by John Lennon; 2nd: To fancy;to suppose;to fantasise; and 3: To visualise;picture in one’s mind, usually something that’s real.
23 Send out electronic order? Date’s not specified (7)
EMANATE : E-(prefix signifying things electronic, as in “email”) + “mandate”(an order;an official instruction) minus(…’s not specified) “d”(abbrev. for “date”).
24 Requiring a baker’s job to be expressed (7)
NEEDING : Homophone of(… to be expressed) “kneading”(part of a baker’s work).
25 Loads of castle-builders! (7)
BUCKETS : Cryptic defn: Reference to what you would use to build sandcastles with.
26 Excitedly describe loan of some importance (12)
CONSIDERABLE : Anagram of(Excitedly) DESCRIBE LOAN.
Down
1 Pen with point I coloured – there’s no flow with it (7)
STYPTIC : STY(a pen;an enclosure for pigs) plus(with) PT(abbrev. for “point”, in placenames) + I + C(abbrev. for “coloured” – I could, just about, find “c” for “colour”. As for “coloured”, I had suspected that it was from during the apartheid era, denoting a mixed racial descent, but I couldn’t confirm it with my online references. However, a reliable source tells me that it’s in Chambers.).
Defn: Something to stop bleeding;the flow of blood.
2 Chuck briefly dons excellent headgear (3,4)
TOP HATS : “toss”(to chuck) minus its last letter(briefly) containing(dons – I’m not sure if this indicator works – unless referring to underwear, of course) PHAT(excellent, from African-American slang, a corruption of “fat” in its positive sense of rich and abundant). This is the one I couldn’t parse.
3 Supplier’s first to stop advert for engine component (5,4)
SPARK PLUG : 1st letter of(…’s first) “Supplier” + PARK(to stop and stay in one spot) + PLUG(an advertisement;a recommendation for, say, a product or an event).
4 Girl lifted something worth having (5)
ASSET : Reversal of(lifted, in a down clue) TESSA(a girl’s name).
5 Four o’clock, say, and char issue is raised (7)
TEATIME : TEA(char, an alternative to cha and chai, all originating from Mandarin) plus(and) reversal of(… is raised) EMIT(to issue forth).
6 A part of soil’s kind of waterproof (7)
OILSKIN : Hidden in(A part of) “soil’s kind “.
Defn. and Answer: As nouns, a waterproof outer garment made from cotton treated with oil and pigment to make it waterproof.
7 Stop occasion that gets unruly (5,7)
COACH STATION : Anagram of(… gets unruly) OCCASION THAT.
Defn: … along your coach journey.
10 Crowd catch an official statement (5,7)
PRESS RELEASE : PRESS(to crowd;to push upon) + RELEASE(a device or catch enabling the locking and releasing of a mechanism).
15 Bay resort could be the place for this eatery (6,3)
OYSTER BAR : Anagram of(could be) BAY RESORT. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
17 Medicine‘s rank stink (7)
PLACEBO : PLACE(one’s rank;standing in society or in a group) + BO(abbrev. for “body odour”, an unpleasant smell).
Defn: … that’s medically inert, but that could benefit the patient by working psychologically.
18 Fruit is evident in storm season primarily (7)
RAISINS : IS contained in(evident in) RAIN(to storm;to precipitate rain) + 1st letter of(primarily) “season “.
19 Put up with copper beginning to berate youngster? (4,3)
BEAR CUB : BEAR(to put up with;to tolerate) plus(with) CU(chemical symbol for the element copper) + 1st letter of(beginning to) “berate “.
20 Opening with the old stare (4,3)
GLAD EYE : GLADE(a piece of open ground, say, in a forest) plus(with) YE(an olden term for “the”).
Defn: … in a seductive or an inviting way.
22 A pair of journos (good at heart) with the ability to cut (5)
EDGED : 2 x(A pair of) ED(abbrev. for an editor;in slang, a journo, from “journalist”) containing(… at heart) G(abbrev. for “good”).
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The following 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.)
Getting to this puzzle a day late, but I see I haven’t missed anything.
#1 is an H-bomb, detonated with a SPARK PLUG.
#2 is Geo. H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis, brother or cousin of OLYMPIA.
#3 is from Whose Line Is It Anyway? hosted by Clive Anderson, who also hosted LOOSE ENDS on radio.
#4 looks like a still from To Sir With Love, which I am surprised to see featured Patricia Routledge, more famous as one of the BUCKETS (pronounced “Bouquets”)
Fantastic and well done! Ian SW3, right on all counts.
Well, there’s a first time for everything. Thanks for the blog and picture puzzle.