(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Not too much of a problem, once having got used to the many charade-type clues. Thanks to Alchemi. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1,7 North America in shock after competitor gets through early round, needing power to stay up (7,4,3)
HEAVIER THAN AIR : [ NA(abbrev. for “North America”) contained in(in) HAIR(which could be a thick bushy mass;a shock) ] placed after(after, in an across clue) [ VIER(one who vies;a competitor) contained in(gets through) HEAT(an early elimination round in a competition) ].
9 Sanctimonious before feeling pain? (7)
PREACHY : PRE-(the prefix signifying something before, as in “prehistoric”) + ACHY(experiencing aches;feeling pain).
10 Detection system misses a sweet potato covering the end of some ship’s rigging (7)
YARDARM : “radar”(a system for detecting distant objects using radio waves) minus(misses) its 1st “a ” contained in(… covering) YAM(in Southern US, any of certain large varieties of sweet potato – though elsewhere, a yam resembles but is botanically different from a sweet potato).
11,25 down Turn rubbish into eggs (6)
ROTATE : TAT(rubbish;tasteless stuff) contained in(into) ROE(eggs of fish and certain crustaceans).
12 It’s Alchemi (about time), surprisingly showing sporting prowess (11)
ATHLETICISM : Anagram of(…, surprisingly) IT’S ALCHEMI [ containing(about) T(abbrev. for “time”) ].
14 Ugly plain near Dutch city which looks the same from the other side (10)
PALINDROME : Anagram of(Ugly) PLAIN plus(near) D(abbrev. for “Dutch”) + ROME(the Italian capital).
Defn: A word which is spelt the same forwards or backwards.
15 Satisfactory loud song (4)
FAIR : F(abbrev. for “forte”, the musical instruction to play loudly) + AIR(a song).
17 Essentially holy area (4)
ACRE : The inner letters of(Essentially) “sacred”(holy).
Defn: … of land.
19 Hero receives shocking treatment following extra event to fill unexpected vacancy (2-8)
BY-ELECTION : [ LION(figuratively, a hero who would be lionised) containing(receives) ECT(abbrev. for “electroconvulsive therapy”;electric shock treatment for severe mental disorders) ] placed after(following) BYE(in cricket, a run scored from a ball not struck by a batsman, and awarded as an extra to the team).
Answer: An election to find a replacement for a seat in Parliament vacated by the incumbent before the end of the normal term of office.
22 Fools follow a luxury car after European doctor shows up (11)
EMBARRASSES : { ASSES(fools) placed after(follow) [ A + RR(abbrev. for the luxury car marque, the Rolls Royce)] } placed after(after) [ E(abbrev. for “European”) + MB(abbrev. for a Bachelor of Medicine;a doctor) ].
Defn: Makes someone feel inferior or puts someone to shame.
23 Key old solvers getting potato bud (3)
EYE : E(in music, one of the keys in which a piece is composed and played) + YE(old form of “you”;the solvers as refered to by the setter).
24 Allows elders to oust odd characters following rejection of poison (7)
ENABLES : “elders ” minus(to oust) its 1st, 3rd and 5th letters(odd characters) placed after(following) reversal of(rejection of) BANE(a deadly poison).
25 Modified note on parking kept by a parent (7)
ADAPTED : [ TE(syllable representing one of the notes in the diatonic musical scale) placed after(on, in an across clue) P(abbrev. for “parking”) ] contained in(kept by) [A + DAD(the male parent addressed informally) ].
27,28 Devious one fetched somewhat dubious Anti-Union grouping (3,11)
THE CONFEDERACY : Anagram of(Devious) ONE FETCHED + RACY(somewhat dubious;disreputable, which being racy;risqué might be).
Answer: The group of states who declared secession from, and fought against, the Union in the American Civil War.
Down
1,11 Joint operation with Phi? (3,11)
HIP REPLACEMENT : A reverse clue: Anagram of(REPLACEMENT) HIP = Phi.
2 Sailor bringing drink up as encouragement (7)
ABETTAL : AB(abbrev. for an able-bodied seaman;a sailor) + reversal of(up, in a down clue) LATTE(a coffee made with hot milk).
Defn: … or incitement of someone to commit a crime.
3 Popular features about America under restraint (2,6)
IN CHAINS : IN(popular;trendy) + CHINS(facial features) containing(about) A(abbrev. for “America”).
4,13 Special effects whiz‘s light to annoy Chinese having to operate inside (3,11)
RAY HARRYHAUSEN : RAY(a beam of light) + HARRY(to annoy;to pester) + HAN(a member of the principal ethnic group of China) containing(having … inside) USE(to operate;to put into service).
Answer: A pioneering special effects creator, writer and producer of films, including “Jason and the Argonauts”.
HAYLEY MILLS : HAY(the annual Hay Festival of Literature and Arts is held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales) placed above(on, in a down clue) LEY(arable land used as pastureland) + M(Roman numeral for a thousand) + ILLS(problems, medical or otherwise).
Defn: … who started as a child actress in the film, Tiger Bay.
6 No way electronic component is from Scandinavia (6)
NORDIC : NO + RD(abbrev. for “road”;a way) + IC(abbrev. for “integrated circuit”, a whole system of connected electronic components etched or imprinted on to silicon or germanium chip, in turn used an a component in electronic devices).
7 A heartless teacher about to get a sort of bean (7)
ARABICA : A + “rabbi”(a qualified teacher of Jewish religious law) minus its central letter(heartless) + CA(abbrev. for “circa”;about in terms of dates or points in time).
Defn: … originally from Ethiopia used to brew coffee.
8,26 Inappropriately merry band came to swamp English solemn occasion (11,3)
REMEMBRANCE DAY : Anagram of(Inappropriately) MERRY BAND CAME containing(came to swamp) E(abbrev. for “English”).
Defn: … to commemorate those killed in the World Wars.
11 See 1 down
13 See 4 down
16 Blade kills shrew (3,5)
ICE SKATE : ICES(slang for “kills”;murders) + KATE(short for Katherina, the titular character, in Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”).
Answer: …, of which the part that slides on the ice is called the blade.
18 Storm over (just) pre-Christian bone formation (7)
RIBCAGE : RAGE(furious intensity;a storm) containing(over) IBC(or, in Roman numerals, 1BC, the year just before the Christian era, indicated by BC;before Christ, in contrast to the years in the Christian era indicated by AD;Anno Domini).
20 Drink tied ace in knots (4,3)
ICED TEA : Anagram of(… in knots) TIED ACE.
21 Following resistance, fuzz stripped of merrymaking (6)
FROLIC : F(abbrev. for “following”) + R(in physics, the symbol for electrical resistance) + “police”(“fuzz” in slang) minus its 1st and last letters(… stripped).
25 See 11 across
26 See 8 down
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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle (one of them has 2 links to the same answer in the crossword).
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)
Pic 3 – Robert Ryan from God’s Little ACRE.
Pic 5 – Jack Lemmon in Avanti which co-starred HAYLEY MILL’s sister Juliet.
Pic 2 – ABBA is a PALINDROME and they are of NORDIC extraction.
Right, grandpuzzler. Jack Lemmon’s co-star is shown in Pic5 too. Abba had a hit S.O.S., which is also a PALINDROME.
Pic1 is an Asian palm civet, which feeds on ARABICA beans, part of the process of making Kopi Luwak from Indonesia.
Pic4 of a building in Kerala shows the sign in Malayalam, another PALINDROME.
Pic6 has Titan, one of Saturn’s moons in the foreground, and “The Clash of the Titans” was RAY HARRYHAUSEN’s last film.