(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) Thanks to Pasquale for an enjoyable puzzle. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Greasy stuff very foolish for American writer to eat (6)
POMADE : MAD(very foolish, as in “you’d be mad to try this!”) contained in(for … to eat) POE(Edgar Allan, American writer).
Defn: … for your hair.
4 Girl needs a soft drink, somehow going from do to do (8)
DIATONIC : DI(short for the girl’s name Diana) plus(needs) A + TONIC(short for tonic water, non-alcoholic and carbonated, or, in New England, a non-alcoholic carbonated sweet drink).
Defn: … on the major or minor musical scale, from do/doh/doe? through re, me, fa, so, la, ti, and back to do.
9 Walk by river? (6)
RAMBLE : AMBLE(to walk leisurely) plus(by) R(abbrev. for “river”). “Walk” does double duty.
10 Distress when train set gets damaged (8)
STRAITEN : Anagram of(… gets damaged) TRAIN SET.
11 A little comic, he contrived something lavatorial (8,6)
CHEMICAL TOILET : Anagram of(… contrived) A LITTLE COMIC, HE.
13 Theatrical demand for silence right in manner of ancient Greeks (10)
HISTRIONIC : HIST(an expression demanding silence;sh!) + R(abbrev. for “right”) + IONIC(in the manner of the ancient Greeks of Ionia).
14 Irishman given a spooky experience abandoning church (4)
SEAN : “séance”(a spooky experience, though the only spooky one present is probably the medium) minus(abandoning) “CE”(abbrev. for the Church of England).
16 Snide comment of Spain against its neighbour (4)
GIBE : E(abbrev. for for Spain) placed after(against, in an across clue) GIB(short for Gibralter, Spain’s southern neighbour).
18 Solemnly declare situation when donkey had insatiable appetite (10)
ASSEVERATE : ASS(a donkey) + [ EVER(always, as in “you’re ever so busy”) ATE ](had an insatiable appetite, if one always ate).
21 Potentially wretches with a gram being gained? (14)
WEIGHTWATCHERS : Anagram of(Potentially) [WRETCHES WITH A plus(… being gained) G(abbrev. for “gram”) ].
Defn: Those who would be feeling wretched, if they as much as gained a gram in weight, instead of losing kilos.
23 Those out for pleasure wanting seductive lady start to finish? (8)
TRIPPERS : “stripper”(a seductive lady) with the 1st letter of(start) moved to the end(to finish).
24 One to criticise smallest cut with little hesitation (6)
SNIPER : SNIP(a very small cut) plus(with) ER(an expression of hesitation).
25 Cover with new trees for trees destroyed (8)
REFOREST : Anagram of(… destroyed) FOR TREES.
26 Bold attack in which one must keep quiet (6)
FLASHY : FLY(to attack suddenly, as in “he flew at me for no apparent reason”) containing(in which) [ A(the singular article;one) + SH!(imperative to keep quiet) ].
Down
1 Headlong fall when important lady drops off edge (4)
PURL : “purler”(a spectacular headlong fall) minus(when … drops off) “ER”(that important lady, Elizabeth Regina, the Queen).
Defn: In knitting or sewing, a decorative border.
2 Male facing stress when leaving US city (7)
MEMPHIS : M(abbrev. for “male”) plus(facing) “emphasis”(stress;special significance or importance placed) minus(… leaving) “as”(when, as in “as you leave the room…”).
3 Author in a state, one of the characters flipping over (2,2,4)
DE LA MARE : “Delaware”(the US state) with “w”(one of its characters) inverted(flipping over) to an “m”.
Answer: Walter, English author and poet.
5 Brilliant batting, say – one little old-style amateur? (11)
INTELLIGENT : IN(describing the team that is batting in a cricket match) + TELL(to say;to inform) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + GENT(short for;little “Gentleman”, a player in the first-class cricket matches, Gentlemen, consisting of amateurs v. Players, consisting of professionals, which were played from 1806 to 1962;old-style).
6 Each party’s beginning with trifle around small table (6)
TEAPOY : [ EA(abbrev. for “each”) + the 1st letter of(…’s beginning) “party” ] contained in(with … around) TOY(a trifle or to trifle with).
7 Whip up a story to deceive girl (7)
NATALIE : Reversal of(… up, in a down clue) TAN(to whip;to thrash) + A + LIE(a story to deceive;a fabrication).
8 City woman offering opposing position (9)
CONSTANCE : CON(opposing, as in “pros and cons”) + STANCE(a position;a stand). Double defn: 1st: .. in S. Germany; and 2nd: A woman’s name.
12 Ultimately, ambiguities in puzzles may make one argue (5,6)
CROSS SWORDS : The last letter of(Ultimately) “ambiguities ” contained in(in) CROSSWORDS(puzzles like this one).
Defn: …, something which occurs in crossword blogs like this.
13 School servant I dismissed may have left a mark (4,5)
HIGH WATER : HIGH(short for “high school”;a grammar school in the UK) + “waiter”(more a server than a servant, I thought) minus(… dismissed) “I“.
Defn: … on the sea-shore, say.
15 Hotel man mixed something very dangerous for drinker (8)
METHANOL : Anagram of(… mixed) HOTEL MAN.
Defn: Poisonous liquid used as a solvent, fuel and antifreeze.
17 Officer in trouble caught by punch (7)
BAILIFF : AIL(to trouble, as in “what ails you?”) contained in(caught by) BIFF(a punch;a blow).
19 A mainstay thus set up is to the purpose (7)
APROPOS : A + PROP(a support, the chief of which is the mainstay) + reversal of(… set up, in a down clue) SO(thus;in this manner).
20 In some measure bullish, a person who would set the pattern? (6)
SHAPER : Hidden in(In some measure) “bullish, a person “.
22 Carrier to deviate, avoiding double bend (4)
TRAY : “stray”(to deviate from) minus(avoiding) “s”(prefix to denote something in the shape of a double bend, as in “an s-bend on the road”)
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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle (it’s not chemical toilet for pic4).
(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)
Well, #4 obviously depicts CHEMICAL TOILETs. Is #2 from the original MEMPHIS? Saddam Hussein (on #5) was FLASHY, may have used POMADE and CROSSed SWORDS often. #3 might be seen by TRIPPERS of a sort. No idea about the lady seeing the shrink in #1, nor the people holding unidentified objects in #6.
1 looks like a City Woman who could be called Natalie or Constance
2 as Ian says
3 Purl /Pearl?
4 as Ian says
5 No idea
6 Some sort of weighing devices – so they would be Weight Watchers?
Pic 2, the Egyptians apparently used a POMADE on mummies hair to make it look nice.
Pic 3, could those be fat cells of some sort, the enemy of WEIGHT WATCHERS?
Actually, if those are fat cells, they look more like brown fat cells which burn energy and help reduce white fat cells, the ‘bad’ ones.
Pic3 Those are cells, but what sort they are doesn’t come into the picture
Pic4 As mentioned above the pics, CHEMICAL TOILET (too obvious) is not the answer
Pic6 Those objects are more intricate versions of the basic one.
Pic 6 – are these harmonicas? If so, there is a diatonic harmonica
3 Something nasty from a Chemical Toilet?
4 High (as in smelling badly) Water?
6 If those are harmonicas then the guy on the left has more than a diatonic range, if not musical then Shapers?
5 Saddam was accused of having Chemical Weapons and some Portaloos I have come across are so bad they could be weaponised.
I’ll give to you Shirl, well done. There are two types of harmonicas, the DIATONIC and the chromatic shown in pic6.
Pic 2, the mummy is having a CHEMICAL TOILET in that he is being embalmed?
Pic 2 methanol is used to make formaldehyde, an embalming agent (not by the ancient Egyptians though!)
Shirl, I think you are right, apparently the ancient Egyptians did use methanol from wood for embalming.
Pic 3: I followed the link (cheating?) and it is “h&e stain in colon tissue”. This appears to be useful in medical diagnosis. I hope this helps someone, because it doesn’t help me!
Pic 3, tissue stains are often mixed with METHANOL.
Pic 4: many brides go to Weightwatchers before the wedding to fit into their gowns
After paying for the wedding, the father of the bride finds himself in 10a ‘ed circumstances, the 17ds come round and he ends up living in a 11ac!
Pic 5: is one of those jolly chaps with Saddam CHEMICAL Ali?
Yes, Shirl, another 2 for you.
Pic2 As Cookie said, METHANOL was one of the ingredients the Egyptians used for embalming
Pic5 Sadam’s Defence Minister, military commander, etc. was nicknamed CHEMICAL Ali.
Of the remaining 3, one of them has the same answer, but a link of a different nature, as one of those already solved.
Pic3: I just Googled methanol+chemical toilets and learned that methanol is part of the “anti-freeze” solution used in chemical toilets. What a joy, using a portaloo in sub zero conditions
Sorry, I meant pic 4
Sorry, Shirl, no chemistry needed for pic4.
Pic 1: Histrionic Personality Disorder?
Yes, Shirl and another one for you (pic1).
For my prize I’ll take the car rather than the holiday, thanks Scchua
Pic 4, the people look like piano keys, but I cannot make a DIATONIC scale out, surely they are not playing musical chairs!
Pic 4, the bride and groom ASSEVERATE during the wedding ceremony, but that is too obvious.
I’ve lost track of what we’ve solved and what we’re still looking for.
Hi all,
to recap (cf. Ian SW3):
Pic1 Psychotherapy is a treatment for HISTRIONIC Personality Disorder (HPD)
Pic2 METHANOL was one of the ingredients used by Ancient Egyptians for embalming
Pic3 and 4 As yet unsolved
Pic5 CHEMICAL Ali was the nickname of Saddam’s Defence Minister, military commander, etc.
Pic6 Those are chromatic harmonicas, in contrast to DIATONIC harmonicas.
OK, how ’bout this for 4: CONSTANCE was the name of title character in WSM’s The Constant Wife? That’s one obvious solution and one obscure one. Works for me.
scchua, as regards Pic 6, Shirl pointed out that one of the harmonicas was DIATONIC, the one the lady is holding I believe.
Ian SW3, scchua @18 said that one of the pictures had the same answer as those already solved, which at that point was METHANOL, DIATONIC and CHEMICAL.
Cookie @30: perhaps I wasn’t very clear – I meant to say that diatonic harmonicas exist, not that there was one in the pic
Ian SW3, scchua@21 ruled out chemistry for pic4, which makes it diatonic (I think)
Hi all,
Just say when, for the answers.
Sorry Shirl, the short harmonica the lady is holding is a DIATONIC one, i.e. a single key harmonica.
Pic 4, single key… DIATONIC, each cabin has an individual lock
Come on Shirl, you can get the final ones, then scchua will give you the car…
Pic 3, how about tissue culture for REFOREST, it is one of the techniques used for the clonal multiplication of trees.
Pic 4, changing cabins at the seaside, they would have to be above HIGH WATER.
[Cookie @37: I am out of ideas. I’ll have to settle for the cuddly toy]
[Shirl, me too, but it will be for the booby prize, and I have Captcha ? – 2 = 0 !]
Okay, the answers
Pic3 Cells that can be stained are described as chromatic, and the chromatic scale has tones not in the DIATONIC scale
Pic4 SEAN is the Irish form of John … so would those Porta-johns be called Porta-seans in Ireland?
Thank you scchua for taking the time to set these puzzles. I think that some of the “usual suspects” who try the quiz must be on holiday, marooned from wi-fi
Groan – thanks schuua for all the fun!