Guardian Cryptic 26656 with Picture Quiz

(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow.  To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)  An enjoyable puzzle from Paul. Thanks to him. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Shape metal as the Rubicon crossed? (3-4)

DIE-CAST : Cryptic defn: When you commit to an irrevocable course of action, you’re said to have crossed the Rubicon, or, the die is cast.

Defn: As a verb.

5    Lithuanian capital providing dandy start to long journey (4-3)

LIFT-OFF : The 1st letter of(… capital) “Lithuanian ” + IF(providing;on condition) + TOFF(a dandy;someone elegantly dressed).

Defn: …, especially into outer space.

9    Wine staying dry then? (5)

MACON : Cryptic defn: If you have your mac (short for the mackintosh;a raincoat) on, you would stay dry.

Answer: … or Mâcon, wine named after the Burgundy region where it is made.

10    Telescope seeing far on the periphery in nuclear device (9)

REFRACTOR : The 1st and last letters of(seeing … on the periphery) “far” contained in(in) REACTOR(short for “nuclear reactor”).

Defn:  … that uses lenses instead of mirrors.

11    Winning team losing? That’s muddled (6,4)

UPSIDE DOWN : UP(winning, as in a competition;leading) + SIDE(a team in a match) + DOWN(losing, converse of “up”).

12    Old South American driving endlessly? (4)

INCA : [“in car”](driving in a car) minus its last letter(endlessly).

14    Make the truth available to all, probing organic waste (11)

MANUFACTURE : [ U(short for “universal”, the classification of a film suitable or available for anyone to view) qualifying FACT(the truth) ] contained in(probing) MANURE(organic waste, used as a fertiliser).

18    All left-hand pages are still to go on book (4,7)

EVEN NUMBERS : EVEN(still;calm) plus(to go on) NUMBERS(a book in the bibe).

Defn: …, in a book that is.

21    Noble almost abandoning extremes (4)

EARL : “nearly”(almost) minus(abandoning) its 1st and last letters(extremes).

22    Train in a particular area requiring less pace, one twice derailed (10)

SPECIALISE : Anagram of(… derailed) [LESS PACE + 2x(…twice) I(Roman numeral for “one”) ].

25    In time, malfunctioning coils put out of place (9)

DISLOCATE : DATE(the time, say, of an event happening) containing(In …, …) anagram of(malfunctioning) COILS.

26    Author elected to keep a tragedy in stock? (5)

IBSEN : IN(elected into Parliament, say) containing(to keep) BSE(abbrev. for “bovine spongiform encephalopathy”, aka mad cow disease, a tragic and fatal disease in livestock).

Answer: Henrik, Norwegian author and playwright.

27    Pink bottom breaking eggs (7)

ROSEATE : SEAT(the buttocks;one’s bottom) contained in(breaking) ROE(eggs of fish, lobsters, sea urchins, and the like).

28    Hollow cut in back for uniform (7)

REGULAR : “gulf”(a deep hollow;a chasm) minus its last letter(cut) contained in(in) REAR(the back part).

Down

1    Terrible killer, an idiot (6)

DUMDUM : Double defn: 1st: A hollow-point bullet that expands on impact, inflicting a terrible, messy wound with extensive laceration.

2    Too much for two characters, say? (6)

EXCESS : Pronunciation;say of the characters “X” and “S”.

3    Old lady of Turin turns up with car after arrival of the Messiah (4,6)

ANNO DOMINI : Reversal of(… turns up, in a down clue) [ O(abbrev. for “old”) + DONNA(term of address for a lady in Italian-speaking areas, Turin included) ] plus(with) MINI(the small car originally made by the British Motor Corporation.

Defn: Term used to denote the years after the supposed year in which Christ was born, ie. after arrival of the Messiah.

4    Stale when married? That’s about right (5)

TIRED : TIED(married;hitched) containing(That’s about) R(abbrev. for “right”).

5    Foreign fliers beginning to fly at heads of untold falcons, flew madly (9)

LUFTWAFFE : Anagram of(… madly) [ the 1st letter of(beginning to)” fly ” + AT + the 1st letters, respectively, of(heads of) “untold falcons ” + FLEW].

Defn:  …, unless you’re German, of course.

6    Weary signal (4)

FLAG : Double defn.

7    Meat giving one gout unfortunately, if unknown amount’s consumed (8)

OXTONGUE : Anagram of(… unfortunately) ONE GOUT containing(if … consumed) X(symbol for an unknown quantity in maths).

8    Japanese vessel may be heading to Newcastle, abandoned (8)

FORSAKEN : [ FOR SAKE ](describing a vessel that may be used to contain the Japanese drink, sake) + the 1st letter of(heading to) “Newcastle “.

13    Sticking a blade nethermost – sliding around, is it? (3,7)

ICE SKATING : Anagram of(… – sliding around) [STICKING A + the last letter of(… nethermost) “blade“].

Answer: .., involving use of skates with blades and lots of sliding around. A WIWD (wordplay intertwined with defn.) clue.

15    Ornate enamel apt for sign (9)

NAMEPLATE : Anagram of(Ornate) ENAMEL APT.

16    Back Duke Ellington for a start, on guitar (8)

DEFENDER : The 1st letters, respectively, of(… for a start) “Duke Ellington” placed above(on, in a down clue) FENDER(a famous make of solid-body electric guitars).

Defn: …, a player whose responsibility is to guard the goal in a team game like football.

17    Emotional disorder ending in Britain with relative in Brussels? (8)

NEUROSIS : The last letter of(ending in) “Britain” plus(with) [ EURO SIS](whimsically, a term for one’s sister;a relative in Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union).

19    Neglect a line in book of prayer (6)

MISSAL : MISS(to neglect;to bypass) + A + L(abbrev. for “line”).

20    Note of course, heard (6)

TENNER : Homophone of(…, heard) “tenor”(a settled course of progress).

Defn: A £10 note.

23    Seeing revolutionary monarch, shout “hooray” (5)

CHEER : CHE(Guevara, Argentinian Marxist revolutionary) + ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, English monarch).

24    One’s sat upon in non-U America, as an American might say? (4)

SOFA : “U S of A”(as an American might refer to his/her country) minus(non-) “U“.

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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.)