(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Slightly harder than the average IoS, I think. Thanks to Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Economise with small car mostly (4)
SLIM : S(abbrev. for “small”) + “limo”(short for limousine, a luxury car) minus its last letter(mostly).
Answer: …, as a verb.
4 Commander’s first to cut crime engulfing area – or converse? (4,3,3)
CHEW THE FAT : The 1st letter of(…’s first) “Commander” + HEW(to cut down) + THEFT(a crime) containing(engulfing) A(abbrev. for “area”).
Defn: To engage in conversation.
9 Apron we’ve worn with no hint of problem – familiar sight in kitchen? (8)
OVENWARE : Anagram of(… worn) “Apron we’ve” minus(with no) the 1st letter of(hint of) “problem“.
10 Admission from president, re-elected (6)
ENTREE : Hidden in(from) “president, re-elected“.
Defn: The act of entering.
11 Promotion about to be held by politician, rash type (6)
MADCAP : [ AD(short for “advertisement”;promotional material) + CA(abbrev. for “circa”;about;approximate in reference to specific years) ] contained in(to be held by) MP(abbrev. for a Member of Parliament;a politician).
12 Dreamy female accommodating worker in Spanish resort (8)
ALICANTE : ALICE(the one in the dreamworld of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland) containing(accommodating) ANT(which could be a member of the worker caste in an ant colony).
13 Slogan greeting pair of bachelors in hotel’s changed (10)
SHIBBOLETH : [ HI(an informal greeting) + B,B(a pair of abbrevs. for “bachelor”) ] contained in(in) anagram of(…’s changed) HOTEL.
Defn: … distinctive of a particular group or class of people.
14 Organised cartoonist (4)
TIDY : Double defn: 2nd: Bill, whose cartoons have appeared in Punch, Private Eye and the Daily Mirror.
16 Cut producing bargain (4)
SNIP : Double defn: 2nd: …, as it “it was a snip at a dollar apiece”.
18 Top Gear character and team is seen as contaminated brand (10)
STIGMATISE : STIG(The anonymous character in the TV programme, Top Gear) plus(and) anagram of(… seen as contaminated) TEAM IS.
Defn: To brand;mark as being disgraceful.
21 A drink found among Anglicans shocks extremely wary character (8)
CAGINESS : A + GIN(an alcoholic drink) contained in(found among) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England, to which Anglicans belong) + the 1st and last letters of(… extremely) “shocks “.
23 Pass in field given by teachers with marks say (6)
NUTMEG : NUT(abbrev. for the National Union of Teachers) plus(with) M(abbrev. for “marks”) + EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”;for example;say).
Defn: In football, a pass of the ball that goes between an opponent’s legs.
24 Tabloid label for a mob (6)
RAGTAG : RAG(a newspaper, disparagingly;a tabloid) + TAG(a label).
25 One pulling out the stops in church? (8)
ORGANIST : Cryptic defn: Refering to the knobs that are pulled to allow sets of pipes in a, say, church organ, to sound.
26 Note fool in rear moving – source of emotional reaction? (4-6)
TEAR-JERKER : TE(the syllable representing the seventh note of the musical scale) + [ JERK(a fool) contained in(in) anagram of(… moving) REAR ].
Defn: An excessively sentimental film, book, play, etc.
27 Fish in Asian city mentioned (4)
SOLE : Homophone of(… mentioned) “Seoul”(S. Korean capital city).
Down
2 Formidable liberal with energy very odd in a hat (9)
LEVIATHAN : L(abbrev. for a member of the Liberal Party) plus(with) E(symbol for “energy” in physics) + V(abbrev. for “very”) + anagram of(odd) IN A HAT.
3 Note restricted source of advice for transport (7)
MINICAB : “minim”(a musical note with a specific time value) minus its last letter(restricted) + CAB(abbrev. for the Citizens Advice Bureau in the UK, a source of advice for people with money, legal, consumer and other problems).
4 A month in place is enough for arranging elite competition (9,6)
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE : [ A + M(abbrev. for “month”) ] contained in(in) anagram of(… for arranging) PLACE IS ENOUGH.
Defn: … for the top football clubs from the respective European national leagues.
5 Raise European tax in general (7)
ELEVATE : E(abbrev. for “European”) + [ VAT(abbrev. for Value Added Tax) contained in(in) LEE(Robert E., Confederate general in the American Civil War) ].
6 High rent magnate charged in TV drama (3,5,7)
THE NIGHT MANAGER : Anagram of(… charged) HIGH RENT MAGNATE.
Defn: … based on a John le Carré novel.
7 Old restaurant in which there’s cold passage (7)
EXTRACT : EX-(prefix signifying something old;former) + TRAT(colloquial short form for “trattoria”, an Italian restaurant) containing(in which there’s) C(abbrev. for “cold”).
Defn: … from a lengthy piece of text.
8 Prevent a Green appearing in Strasbourg? (5)
AVERT : A + VERT(the colour, green, in the main language spoken in Strasbourg, France).
15 Spread with foremost of dishes is by a woman (9)
DISPERSAL : The 1st letter of(foremost of) “dishes ” + IS + PER(by;according to) + SAL(a feminine name).
17 Indication given by dog (7)
POINTER : Double defn: 1st: A hint.
19 This month wine uncovered is available for sale (2,5)
IN STOCK : INST(abbrev. for “instante mense”;of the current month, as in “your letter of the 15th inst.”) + “hock”(a dry white German wine) minus its 1st letter(uncovered).
20 Effect of holiday for all to see in returning group – infection? (7)
TETANUS : [ TAN(the effect of a holiday in sunny climes) + U(British film classification with no restriction on who may watch the movie) ] contained in(in) reversal of(returning) SET(a group of people or things).
22 Saying offering contrast with pre-Christian era? (5)
ADAGE : Cryptic defn: An AD(abbrev. for “Anno Domini”) AGE(an era;a long time period) is in contrast to the pre–Christian era.
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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.)
Pic 3- there was a tv programme in my youth called “RAG, TAG & Bobtail”.
Pic 1- Caruso could be a TEAR-JERKER
Shirl, where’d that TV programme title come from?
Sorry scchua, been shopping. From memory (not Googled) Watch With Mother. Picture Box (Monday?) Rag Tag & Bobtail, Andy Pandy, Muffin the Mule (maybe) and, on Friday, The Woodentops.
…The Woodentops were my favourite, with the Biggest Spotty Dog In All The World
I see nothing for the moment, going to continue with the Everyman for a while…
[Thanks Shirl, you must have posted that message while I was puzzling over this!]
[you are welcome, Cookie]
Pic 4- Beatles song “Blackbird” features word “arise”=ELEVATE?
pic 7- I am hoping those are Mills bombs on the soldier’s back, which would make a musical connection between the Mills brothers and the POINTER sisters.
pic 1- One of Caruso’s favourites was O SOLE mil
sorry O SOLE mio (auto correct!!)
Pic 4, there are various “blackbird” teams in the CHAMPION LEAGUE…
pic 6- The Night Manager was about an arms dealer, admittedly a bit more modern than these!
pic 2 – are there ALICANTE dining tables?
Pic 4, ADAGE, “the early bird catches the worm”…
apropos, my late husband told me that blackbirds tap the ground so that the worms think it is raining and come to the surface.
Pic 5- Wall’s make Cornettos, which were advertised by a Caruso-like tenor singing different words to “O SOLE mio”
Pic 2, could that style of dining room be a SHIBBOLETH?
Getting desperate aren’t we, Shirl…
or perhaps ENTREE goes better with dining?
Shirl, you got both of the O SOLE Mio links right – just to add, Caruso is from Naples, as is the song. And the phrase “RAGTAG and bobtail” is synonymous with RAGTAG.
Hint: THE NIGHT MANAGER is in there somewhere.
Ok scchua, off we go. Pic 2, is the furniture made of pine? Main part in “THE NIGHT MANAGER ” was Jonathan Pine (& in some scenes stripped Pine)
Pic 7, are those limpet mines the man is carrying, they are mentioned in THE NIGHT MANAGER?
Yes, Cookie, those are limpet mines, but there’s a closer link. The sting operation in THE NIGHT MANAGER was code-named Operation Limpet.
Pic2 In N. America, a TIDY is a protective decorative cover for a chair
Pic4 ALICANTE is another name for the grape varietal, the merlot, which name is derived as a diminutive of the French merle, the blackbird
Pic6 Among the medieval weapons shown is the mace. The spice, mace, is extracted from the NUTMEG.
Twigged this bit of fun far too late. Watch with Mother included Bill & Ben but not Muffin the Mule who had his own show. Muffin the Mule remains a criminal offence n the Isle of Man, I’m told,
Thanks for the fun scchua, I forgot to write in Operation Limpet. We should have got the mace connection for NUTMEG!
Thanks scchua. And thanks Grant@24 – how could I forget Bill & Ben? (and the annoying Little Weeeeeed)