(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) An enjoyable puzzle, thanks to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Quiet time of fasting is followed by year of abundance (6)
PLENTY : P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical instruction to play softly) + LENT(the period of fasting prior Easter) plus(is followed by) Y(abbrev. for “year”).
4 Doubts Queen’s charity (6)
QUALMS : QU(abbrev. for “queen”) +ALMS(charity to the poor or needy in the form of money or goods).
9 Thank heavens there’s some sign of enduring life (4)
ANKH : Hidden in(… there’s some) “Thank heavens “.
Defn: The symbol for eternal life as used by the ancient Egyptians, appearing in, eg. the name Tutankhamen.
10 Don’t forget to support home care (4,2,4)
BEAR IN MIND : BEAR(to support a load) + IN(at home) + MIND(to care;to tend to).
11 CIA hit’s ruined by Chinese exercises (3,3)
TAI CHI : Anagram of(…’s ruined) CIA HIT.
12 Broadcast awful record of speech (8)
DIALOGUE : Homophone of(Broadcast) [ “dire”(awful;terrible) “log”(a record of events) ].
13 Notice after dark there’s a lot of accidents here (5,4)
BLACK SPOT : SPOT(to notice) placed after(after, in an across clue) BLACK(dark).
15 Party to start off in pub (2,2)
IN ON : The 1st letter of(start) “off“ contained in(in) INN(a pub).
16 Hard on old boy with nothing being a tramp (4)
HOBO : H(abbrev. for “hard”) plus(on) O.B.(abbrev. for an “old boy”, an ex-pupil of a school) plus(with) O(letter signifying 0;nothing).
17 Delish gin cocktail giving superficial confidence? (9)
SHIELDING : Anagram of(… cocktail) DELISH GIN.
Defn: Of a protective outer;superficial layer giving the confidence that one will not be harmed, eg. a tortoise’s shell.
21 Affected by walkout, council leader’s in with Unison at last (8)
STRICKEN : [ STRIKE(a walkout;an industrial action) containing(…’s in) the 1st letter of(… leader) “council“ ] plus(with) the last letter of(… at last) “Unison“.
22 Anger about state of ruin (6)
RAVAGE : RAGE(anger) containing(about) VA(abbrev. for the US state of Virginia).
24 Dog clubs, for example, do what the others are doing (6,4)
FOLLOW SUIT : FOLLOW(to dog;to tail) + SUIT(in a deck of playing cards, an example of which;for example, is “clubs”).
25 Scream at seeing mouse after first recognising smell (4)
REEK : EEK!(a scream of fright, at seeing, say, a mouse) placed after(after, in an across clue) the 1st letter of(first) “recognising“.
26 To coerce former lover’s wrong (6)
EXTORT : EX(short for a former lover, or spouse even) + TORT(a wrong for which the wronged party may sue for compensation via a civil suit).
27 A little volume cured ten of stress (6)
ACCENT : A + C.C.(abbrev. for;a little “cubic centimetre”) + anagram of(cured) TEN.
Defn: A vocal emphasis given to a particular syllable, word, or phrase.
Down
1 Tommy’s game to join dance (7)
PINBALL : PIN(to join or fasten parts together with a sharp or a slender cylindrical implement) + BALL(a social dance).
Defn: Reference to the The Who’s album “Tommy”, subsequently adapted to stage and film.
2 Analyse the Channel Islands’ elevated principles (5)
ETHIC : Anagram of(Analyse) THE + reversal of(… elevated, in a down clue) CI(abbrev. for the Channel Islands).
3 Cruelly beat sibling after throwing fish away to cats (7)
TABBIES : Anagram of(Cruelly) [“beat sibling“ minus(after throwing … away) “ling”(any of various elongated food fish) ].
5 Wee place in old city popular with nearly everybody? (6)
URINAL : UR(the biblical city) + IN(popular;fashionable) plus(with) “all”(everybody) minus it last letter(nearly).
6 Made fun of a politician locked in toilet by little boy (9)
LAMPOONED : A + MP(abbrev. for a Member of Parliament) contained in(locked in) LOO(slang for a toilet) plus(by) NED(short for;little boy’s name, Edward).
7 Skin inflammation upset new massage students (7)
SUNBURN : Reversal of(upset, in a down clue) [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + RUB(to massage) + N.U.S.(abbrev. for the National Union of Students) ].
8 Girls helping with wedding cakes? (5,2,6)
MAIDS OF HONOUR : Double defn: 2nd: Small tarts with an almond filling.
14 Jaguar, for one, grasps panache with which the French produce a convertible (9)
CABRIOLET : CAT(the family of carnivores, a big example of which;for one, is the jaguar) containing(grasps) [ BRIO(panache;verve;flair) + LE(French for “the”) ].
16 Hello article about decoration struck a chord (3,4)
HIT HOME : HI!(hello!) + THE(the grammatical article) containing(about) O.M.(abbrev. for the Order of Merit, a decoration;an honour given by the monarch).
18 Unpredictable blunder by a jerk (7)
ERRATIC : ERR(to blunder;to go wrong) plus(by) A + TIC(a jerk;a spasm of a muscle).
19 Injure leg caught in trap by carelessness (7)
NEGLECT : [ Anagram of(Injure) LEG + C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket scores) ] containing(in) NET(a trap).
20 Pierce Brosnan has heart set on week playing Romeo (6)
SKEWER : The central letter of(..heart) “Brosnan“ placed above(has … set on, in a down clue) anagram of(… playing) WEEK + R(the letter represented by “Romeo” in the phonetic alphabet).
23 Extremely brief victory’s given English spirit (5)
VERVE : “very”(extremely;to a high degree) minus its last letter(brief) + V(abbrev. for “victory”) plus(…’s given;contraction of “is given”) E(abbrev. for “English”).
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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.)
Surely pic 4 is not a BEAR?
#1 – roses – which need to be sprayed against BLACK SPOT
#2 – Picasso’s Las Meninas – which means MAIDS OF HONOUR
#3 is from the James Bond ‘Diamonds are Forever.’ Pierce Brosnan did play James Bond, although not in this one.
#3 – those guys are misleadingly nerdy looking hit men in a James Bond film – so maybe HIT HOME.
pic 4 A&W has a BEAR on it’s sites
#4 is Plymouth Rock. Maybe HOBO – a homeless wanderer which is what the pilgrims were until they built their settlements.
Pic 6 is comparing Ptolemaic and Copernican theories of the solar system. Does this relate to SUNburn perhaps?
#4 is the Plymouth rock, found in VIRGINIA.
pic 5 DIALOGUE?
pic 6 DOLPHIN (in the sense of a curved fish in heraldry) in the Long John Silver sign?
Pic 4, what a laugh, I thought it was a BEAR in a bear pit!
pic 4 Plymouth Rock is a gin cocktail (17a)
Pic 3 is a scene from Diamonds Are Forever wherein Lana Wood played PLENTY O’Toole.
Cheers…
pic 7 the ANKH Planetary Distance Law?
pic 1, there is a rose called Long John Silver, but BLACK SPOT @2 is probably the answer.
Me @15, silly answer, it is just relating two of the pics!
Hi all, especially Jolly Swagman and grandpuzzler
The score so far:
Pic1: BLACK SPOT is a disease affecting rose plants (amongst others)
Pic2: Las Meninas or MAIDS OF HONOUR, though the more famous painting of the same title is by Velasquez
Pic3: The two villains who disposed of Miss PLENTY O’Toole in the film Diamonds Are Forever. Here’re her opening lines:
O’Toole: Hi, I’m Plenty.
Bond (looking at her cleavage): But of course you are.
O’Toole: Plenty O’Toole.
Bond: Named after your father perhaps?
Pic4: That is Plymouth Rock
Pic5: That is a specific dolphin
Pic6: That is Long John Silver
Pic7: That is the Ptolemaic and Copernican models of the solar system.
#5 BLACK SPOT is in Treasure Island with Long John Silver
……..Sorry, should have been #6…….
#5 – flipper, part of a PINBALL machine
Yes, someone is “tipped the black spot”. Was it Blind Pew?
The only specific dolphin I can think of is Flipper – that does look rather like him, though…………
#4 The Plymouth Rock is a glacial ERRATIC
Right, Robi.
Pic6: In Treasure Island, Long John Silver is presented with a BLACK SPOT, signifying a verdict of guilt, and thus to be disposed of
Pic5: That’s Flipper the dolphin in the TV series, and a pair of flippers is to be found at the bottom of the playfield of a PINBALL machine
Pic4: The Plymouth Rock is an example of a glacial ERRATIC, a rock that is geologically different from other rocks in the same area, in this case, having been deposited by a glacier.
#4, there are QUALMS about the Plymouth Rock’s authenticity.
Sorry, too late. Thanks sschua for the Quiz, and I hope you are not too tired.
I’m a bit stuck on #7, apart from the fact that Galileo wrote a book called ‘Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems’ (Copernican vs Ptolemeic) where he was thought to have LAMPOONED the Pope.
………..or DIALOGUE, robi?
Robi and muffin, you’re right about DIALOGUE, for which Galileo got into deep doodoo with the Spanish Inquisition.
Hi Cookie@25. Tired? No! I’m a night owl.
thanks for the added entertainment, scchua
Many thanks scchua.
Thanks scchua, nice one!