Firstly, thanks to Duncan and miserableoldhack for standing in for us recently. We now have a puzzle by Quince to blog.
We really expected a NINA given the grid but if there is one, we certainly cannot work out what it is.
There were some ‘inventive definitions’ as expected (TREE HUGGERS, SOMETHING TO REFLECT ON and UNION JOINER for example), but for some reason or other we didn’t like CHICKEN NUGGET.
Thanks Quince.
An anagram (‘slammed’) of BRIAN ENO HIT
Hidden (‘out of’) in waTER Naturally
IN (batting) DIG (like) E (English) NO USe (hopeless) missing last letter or ‘endless’
FACE (look forward to) LIFT (raise)
Hidden (‘some’) and reversed (‘lies about’) in feEL BIDEn
A play on the fact that a CHICKEN NUGGET has batter on it and a chicken is a young or ‘potential’ hen. As there isn’t really a definition, it’s not one of our favourite clues – or one of our favourite ways of eating chicken given the likely use of battery hens in the nuggets!
COY (withdrawn) + vOTEs missing first and last letters or ‘exposed’
TINKERS (toys) around or ‘winning’ H (hearts)
PIN (secure) A COLA (soft drink) D (initial letter or ‘start’ to down) + A
AS (like) around or ‘touring’ XI (team)
An anagram (‘built’) of ROME WASN’T around (not ‘in’ because of the ‘on the contrary’) A D (day)
FInANCE (fund) – missing or ‘scrapping’ the first n (new)
PERIL (risk) around or ‘cuddling’ WINK (flash) followed by E (European)
A reversal (‘up’) of DINEd (fed) missing the last letter or ‘for the most part’
T (time) inside or ‘cutting’ SAGa (long story) missing the last letter or ‘short’
LUNGING (moving forwards) around or ‘guarding’ O (love)
An anagram (‘garbled’) of I AM ON CALL HE
BULLETIN (news) around or ‘about’ a reversal (‘held up’) of ART (works)
TEN (X) ET (‘and’ in France) – in Spain (‘across the Pyrenees’) ‘and’ would be y
An anagram (‘supply’) of CRUDE OIL AT
An anagram (‘fluttered’) of TAYLOR and I D (middle letters or ‘hearts’ of swIft duDes)
A reversal (‘on retirement’) of OK (agreed) + ALAS (sadly)
A play on the fact that ‘h’ and ‘e’ are the ODD letters in ‘hues’
ARiSE (surface) with I (the setter) missing or ‘leaving’
Very much enjoyed this. One of those puzzles where I kept getting stuck and then inspiration hit and I managed to complete apart from parsing the ET bit of TENET. That was muy devious so hat’s off to B&J on that one.