Guardian Cryptic 26327 with Picture Quiz

(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow.  To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)   An early morning wake-up call didn’t do much for me when solving this.  But in the end I did manage to complete with a bit of electronic help.  Thanks to Nutmeg.  Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

8    Crossword fan losing last cent in New York, not in this state? (8)

SOLVENCY : “solver”(a crossword fan) minus its last letter(losing last) + [ C(abbrev. for “cent”) contained in(in) NY(abbrev. for New York city).

Answer: If you were in this state, financially, you’d be far from losing your final cent. A clever WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.

9    Hostile male’s disregarded order (5)

ALIGN : “malign”(hotile;showing ill will) minus(…’s disregarded) “m”(abbrev. for “male”).

10    Endless hilarity over barber’s offering (4)

TRIM : Reversal of(… over) [ “mirth”(hilarity;merriment) minus its last letter(Endless …) ]

11    In time to stop case involving me and 15 more? (10)

TRILATERAL : LATER(in time to come] contained in(to stop) TRIAL(a case in a law court).

Defn: Involving me and two(answer to 15down) more, ie. three altogether.

12    Walton did it turning the other way (6)

ANGLED : Cryptic defn: Reference to Izaak Walton, English author of “The Compleat Angler”.

Defn: Continued by turning at an angle.

14    Star‘s in danger crossing square and base independently (8)

ASTERISK : AT RISK(in danger of) containing(crossing) [S(abbrev. for “square”] and E(in mathematics, the base number of the natural logarithm) separately(independently)].

16    Clarinet short of one broken key (7)

CENTRAL : Anagram of(… broken) “Clarinet ” minus(short of) “I”(Roman numeral for “one”).

18    Find guilty on six counts, initially, in court (7)

CONVICT : [ ON + VI(Roman numeral for “six”) + the 1st letter of(…, initially) “counts ” ] contained in(in) CT(abbrev. for “court”). An nice apt surface.

21    Three lines cut from full English production in Chinese arrangement (4,4)

FENG SHUI : Anagram of(… production) “full English ” minus(… cut from) Three x “l”(abbrev. for “line”).

Answer: The Chinese practice of arranging the environment around and in, say, an office, a house, etc. to bring good fortune.

23    Everything seized by Asiatic invader thrown over ravine (6)

NULLAH : Reversal of(… thrown over) [ ALL(everything) contained in(seized by) HUN(the Asiatic invader of old, the most famous being Attila) ].

Answer: From Hindi.

24    Provokes home countries hampering return of serviceman (10)

INSTIGATES : IN(at home) + STATES(countries) contained in(hampering) reversal of(return of) GI(an American serviceman).

26    Spike Milligan finally breaks restraint (4)

TINE : The last letter of(… finally) “Milligan” contained in(breaks) TIE(a restraint).

27    Motion rifles to retreat (5)

STOOL : Reversal of(… to retreat) LOOTS(rifles;plunders).

Defn: Excrement.

28    One day bearing name of god, probably (1,4,3)

I DARE SAY : I(Roman numeral for “one”) + DAY containing(bearing) ARES(the Greek god of war).

Down

1    Comic raconteur heading off for dance (8)

COURANTE : Anagram of(Comic) “raconteur ” minus its 1st letter(heading off).

Defn: … of the 17C.

2    Mother’s basic contribution, boundless love? I’m not sure (4)

OVUM : “love ” minus its 1st and last letters(boundless …) + UM(expression used when one is unsure).

Cryptic Defn: The egg cell from the mother, the basis for an offspring.

3    One team’s sobriquet for college bear? (6)

UNITED : UNI(short for “university”;college) + TED(name of the teddy bear in the movie and story of the same name). Double defn: 2nd: A sporting team’s nickname, from its name, eg. Man U.

4    Enthusiastic players regularly dropped, one briefly impassive (7)

LYRICAL : “players ” minus its 1st, 3rd and 5th letters(regularly dropped) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + “calm”(impassive) minus it last letter(briefly …).

5    Dope somewhat backward (4)

DATA : Reversal of(… backward) [A TAD](a bit;somewhat).

6    How Italian, going back, ran into French scorer? (4,6)

TIME TRAVEL : Reversal of(…, going back) IT(abbrev. for “Italian”) + MET(ran into;encountered) + RAVEL(Maurice, French composer of music scores).

Answer: How anyone (Italian or otherwise) in this day and age could meet Ravel. Another WIWD clue.

7    Records left in high priest’s possession (6)

ANNALS : L(abbrev. for “left”) contained in(in …’s possession) ANNAS(high priest before whom Jesus was brought for judgement).

13    Tailor got initial work for barrister (10)

LITIGATION : Anagram of(Tailor GOT INITIAL) .

15    “Deuce” likewise announced (3)

TWO : Homophone of(… announced) “too”(likewise;also).

17    Nameless architect remains (3)

ASH : “Nash”(John, British architect in the Regency era) m(…less) “n”(abbrev. for “name”).

19    Forceful cutter, batting after tea, was out (8)

CHAINSAW : IN(descriptive of the team taking its turn at batting in cricket) placed below
(after, in a down clue) CHA(tea, from Chinese) + anagram of(… out) WAS.

20    Pub’s standard drink leads to trouble, ducks (7)

PINTAIL : PINT(the standard unit measure of beer or cider served in the UK and Ireland, even post-metrication) + AIL(to trouble, as in “what ails you?”).

Answer: Plural for the greyish-brown ducks with pointed tails of the Northern Hemisphere.

22    Boy from East enthralled by surrealist (6)

ERNEST : E(abbrev. for “east”) contained in(enthralled by) ERNST(Max, German painter and sculptor and pioneer of Surrealism).

23    Fool’s gold underpinning northern capital (6)

NASSAU : [ ASS(fool) + AU(chemical symbol for the element, gold) ] placed below(underpinning, in a down clue) N(abbrev. for “northern”).

Defn: … city of the Bahamas.

25    Surface with metal reflected in headlights (4)

GILD : Reversal of(reflected) and contained in(in) “headlights “.

Defn: To coat on the surface with a film of metal, usually gold.

26    Our opponents ultimately lost, old boy! (4)

THEO : “them”(our opponents, as in “us vs. them”) minus its last letter(ultimately lost) + O(abbrev. for “old”).

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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.)