(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Largely manageable for an IoS, with only a couple requiring a bit more thought. Thanks to Hypnos. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Rate poet that’s arranged musical work (8)
OPERETTA : Anagram of(… that’s arranged) RATE POET.
10 Put away celebrity magazine hiding cover (3)
EAT : “Heat”(British entertainment magazine, about celebrities, what else?) minus(hiding) its 1st letter(cover).
11 Keen girl deployed around a network as TV presenter (4,7)
GARY LINEKER : Anagram of(… deployed) KEEN GIRL containing(around) [A + RY(abbrev. for “railway” network)].
Defn: … of sports programmes.
12 Procedure in course credits discussed (7)
TACTICS : Homophone of(… discussed) [“tack”(the course taken by a vessel sailing upwind) + “tick”(in commerce, credit … allowing you to buy now and pay later)S].
13 Greek character on reflection not wanting new fabric (7)
CHIFFON : CHI(the 22nd character of the Greek alphabet) + reversal of(on reflection) OFF(not wanting;not inclined towards, as in “I’m off crosswords”) + N(abbrev. for “new”).
14 Serve around Ascot possibly in sleeveless gear (9)
WAISTCOAT : WAIT(to serve at a table, as, well, a waiter does) containing(around) anagram of(… possibly) ASCOT.
15 Policeman abroad backed a tiresome activity (5)
GARDA : Reversal of(backed) [A + DRAG(a tiresome activity, as in “solving crosswords is a drag”)].
Defn: …, specifically in the police force of the Irish Republic.
17 Symbol close to ocean giving surfers’ access? (3-2)
LOG-ON : LOGO(a symbol used by, say, organisations) + the last letter of(close to) “ocean “.
Defn: … to a website.
19 Record exchange after book is banned in speech (9)
DISCOURSE : DISC(a gramophone record) + “bourse”(a stock exchange in continental Europe, especially the one in Paris) minus(after … is banned) “b”(abbrev. for “book”).
22 Western man’s agent recalled rumour (7)
WHISPER : W(abbrev. for “western”) + HIS(possessive pronoun for a man) + reversal of(… recalled) REP(short for “representative”, an agent).
23 Italian food over austere period old man hoards (7)
POLENTA : [O(abbrev. for “over”, in cricket scores) + LENT(the austere period before Easter, involving fasting and penitence) ] contained in(… hoards) PA(term for one’s father, one’s old man).
24 Railing in almost perfect road race (11)
FULMINATION : “full”(perfect;not lacking in any respect) minus its last letter(almost …) + MI( “M1”, the major road in England, with 1 substituted by its Roman numeral) + NATION(a race being a community of people with similar characteristics and culture who might be organised as a nation, though in modern times, the latter is more likely to consist of various races).
25 Jellied food packed in free lunches (3)
EEL : Hidden in(packed in) “free lunches “.
26 Object put between two rivers and yard in bucolic atmosphere (8)
RURALITY : IT(a pronoun refering to an object or thing) contained in(between) [ R(abbrev. for “river”) + URAL(a river flowing into the Caspian Sea) + Y(abbrev. for “yard”).
Down
2 Survey reported on queen, say, is source of stink (7)
POLECAT : Homophone of(… reported) “poll”(a survey) placed above(on, in a down clue) CAT(the mature female of which is a queen).
Defn: A mammal noted for its fetid smell.
3 Crime writer with good position on scale (7)
RANKING : RANKIN(Ian, Scottish crime writer, creator of Inspector Rebus) plus(with) G(abbrev. for “good”).
4 Treat casually opinion US President held about another last in office (4,3,7)
TAKE FOR GRANTED : TAKE(one’s opinion, as is “what’s your take on the Brexit referendum?”) + FORD(Gerald, former US President) containing(held about) [ GRANT(Ulysses S., another former US President) + the last letter of(last in) “office “].
5 A Republican administered Scottish island (5)
ARRAN : A + R(abbrev. for “Republican”) + RAN(administered;managed).
6 Award, one held by top Sheffield Wednesday player (8)
BESTOWAL : A(one;singular article in grammar) contained in(held by) [BEST(top) + OWL(what you might call a player in the Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, nicknamed The Owls) ].
7 Minor gift for cellist after playing piece inside (8,6)
STOCKING FILLER : Anagram of(… after playing) FOR CELLIST containing(… inside) KING(a piece on the chessboard).
Defn: A present small enough (minor) to put into a child’s (minor’s) Christmas stocking.
8 One opposed to people getting on? (6)
AGEIST : Cryptic defn: Reference to aging people;people getting on.
9 Largely original company painting (6)
FRESCO : “fresh”(original;new) minus its last letter(L argely …) + CO(abbrev. for a “company”).
16 Woman during stroll open to suggestion (8)
AMENABLE : ENA(a feminine name) contained in(during) AMBLE(to stroll along).
18 Police put in LA regarding union activity? (7)
NUPTIAL : Anagram of(Police) PUT IN LA.
Defn: …, a matrimonial union, that is.
19 Inactive matador, man that’s restricted (7)
DORMANT : Hidden in(…’s restricted) “matador, man that “.
20 Poisonous priest among group in charge (6)
SEPTIC : P(abbrev. for “priest”) contained in(among) SET(a group of similar things) + IC(abbrev. for “in charge”).
21 Old internet piece encapsulating Northern figure (6)
OBLONG : O(abbrev. for “old”) + BLOG(a piece of writing on the internet) containing(encapsulating) N(abbrev. for “northern”).
22 Thin biscuit a few baked with recipe (5)
WAFER : Anagram of(… baked) A FEW plus(with) R(abbrev. for “recipe”).
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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle.
In Pic6: only a couple out of 5 are needed.
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)
Pic 3, from the OPERETTA “The Pirates of Penzance”, Major General Stanley’s entrance song, probably the most famous by Gilbert and Sullivan
I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I’ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;a
I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
I’m very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.
Pic 1, RURALITY, no elecricity landline supply, sun power used
Cookie,
Pic1 There’s a semiconductor WAFER in the solar cell atop the pole
Pic2 A CHIFFON cake has similarities with a sponge cake
Pic3 A SEPTIC equation is f(x)=0, where f(x) is a polynomial to the 7th degree
Pic4 Chinese WHISPERs is a children’s party game
Pic5 FULMINATION originates from the Latin for “lightning”
Pic6 George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones were in “Intolerable Cruelty”, featuring preNUPTIAL agreements and divorces.
Thanks scchua, I would not have got any of those, all I could think of for CHIFFON was the girls’ skirts in Pic 4 and as for the SEPTIC equation! A shame nobody else was around to join in.