(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A straightforward puzzle, except for a couple of minor niggles. Thanks to Armonie. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Soldier introduced to top twenty in France (8)
CHARTRES : R.E.(abbrev. for a solder in the Royal Engineers Corps in the British Army) contained in(introduced to) CHARTS(the weekly listing of the most popular musical recordings, the top twenty being the most often cited).
Answer: City in France.
5 Sister accepts falsehood that’s even more unoriginal (6)
STALER : SR.(abbrev. for “Sister” in a religious order) containing(accepts) TALE(a falsehood;a fabrication).
9 Cut train in error? It’s withdrawn! (8)
TACITURN : Anagram of(… in error) CUT TRAIN.
10 Protection for troops (6)
GUARDS : Double defn.
12 Earl handled fragment (5)
ERODE : E(abbrev. for “Earl”, the title) + RODE(handled;endured successfully, as in “he rode out the political storm”).
Defn: To break off. I thought the defn. and answer are not totally equivalent: the former refers to detachment in pieces, while the latter is separation by slow grinding. But, of course, I may have the wrong answer in the first place, in which case the above is academic.
13 Doctor had snored? Tough! (4-5)
HARD-NOSED : Anagram of(Doctor) HAD SNORED.
14 Talisman for Monday’s race meeting (6)
MASCOT : M(abbrev. for Monday) + ASCOT(the horse racing meeting at, well, Ascot, England).
16 Stomach sailor having affair with people (7)
ABDOMEN : AB(abbrev. for “able-bodied seaman”;a sailor) plus(having) DO(a social affair;function) plus(with)MEN(used in general for “people”;mankind, or humankind, if you prefer).
19 Become brighter and cold – king gets excited (5,2)
CLEAR UP : C(abbrev. for “cold”) + LEAR(the king in Shakespeare’s play) plus(gets) UP(in a state of excitement).
Defn: With reference to the sky, for example.
21 Fools hold on to a bit of the property (6)
ASSETS : ASSES(fools) containing(hold on to) the 1st letter of(a bit of) “the “.
23 Indian dish’s extra in the US (9)
BALTIMORE : BALTI(the Indian spicy dish) + MORE(extra).
Answer: The state in the US.
25 Make good in harmony (5)
ATONE : [AT ONE](in harmony;in concordance).
26 One addressing other ranks has register back to front (6)
ORATOR : O.R.(abbrev. for “other ranks”;other than commissioned officers in the military) plus(has) reversal of(… back to front) ROTA(a register of persons’ names and their duties).
27 Set off porter about talent (5,3)
START OUT : STOUT(porter;dark sweet ale from black malt) containing(about) ART(a talent;a knack for doing something).
28 The dog for me (6)
SETTER : Double defn: 2nd: Self-referentially, the compiler of this puzzle.
29 Tory took off correctly from college (8)
CRANWELL : C(abbrev. for a Conservative Party member;a Tory) + RAN(took off) + WELL(correctly;in a good and proper manner).
Defn: … in England for training RAF personnel.
Down
1 Boat for Charlie to deliver (6)
CUTTER : C(letter represented by “Charlie” in the phonetic alphabet) + UTTER(to deliver;to express audibly).
2 An unpleasant duty collecting silver in port (9)
ANCHORAGE : AN + CHORE(an unpleasant duty;task) containing(collecting) AG(chemical symbol for the element, silver).
Defn: … in Alaska.
3 In short, it lends distinction to a name (5)
TITLE : Hidden in(In) “short, it lends “.
4 What gossip can make when in audible range (7)
EARSHOT : [EARS HOT](according to superstitious folklore, what you feel when someone is gossiping about you – but I thought it was itchy ears?).
6 Fillet is done differently in French town (9)
TOURNEDOS : Anagram of(… differently) DONE contained in(in) TOURS(the French town).
Defn: Boneless steak from the undercut of sirloin.
7 Birds live on boats (5)
LARKS : L(abbrev. for “live”) placed above(on, in a down clue) ARKS(boats, like Noah’s).
8 Team cuts lease for occupier (8)
RESIDENT : SIDE(a team in competition) contained in(cuts) RENT(to lease).
11 Article about a neighbourhood (4)
AREA : A(the grammatical article) + RE(about;with reference to) + A.
15 Drug for boy in erotic play (9)
CORTISONE : SON(a boy) contained in(in) anagram of(… play) EROTIC.
17 A pacemaker adapted more to men (9)
METRONOME : Anagram of(adapted) MORE TO MEN.
18 Strike-breaker promises to supply plant (8)
SCABIOUS : SCAB(a strike-breaker) + I.O.U.S(abbrev. for “I Owe You”s;promises to pay one’s debts).
20 Sovereign caught in drug conspiracy (4)
PLOT : L(or £, symbol for a pound sterling, which was the worth of the sovereign, a former British gold coin) contained in(caught in) POT(slang for the drug, marijuana).
21 A worthier associate (7)
ABETTER : A + BETTER(worthier;of higher quality or value).
22 Conservationists separate material for hire (6)
RENTAL : N.T.(abbrev. for the National Trust, the conservationist organisation in England, Wales and N. Ireland) contained in(separate) REAL(describing substance that something is made of;material).
24 Minimum for many a player (5)
LEAST : L(Roman numeral for fifty, which can be considered many) + EAST(designation for one of the 4 players in a bridge game).
25 A couple working in protective clothing (5)
APRON : A + PR(abbrev. for “pair”;a couple) + ON(working, say, an electrical appliance).
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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.)
Quite challenging scchua
pic 1) Daybreak by Maxfild Parrish ??
pic 2) A taxi is a short term RENTAL of a car with chauffeur.
pic 3) Statue of William Tell and his son – HARD NOSED ??
pic 4) The phantom was RESIDENT in the opera house ?
pic 5) The US gold and silver medal olympic beach volleyball teams displaying their ASSETS, or is it their ABDOMENs ?
pic 6) Tideswell church ??
Freddy’s answers are brilliant, perhaps he meant to put LARKS with daybreak? ‘To be up with the lark’
Hi Freddy and Cookie,
Pic1: Yes, the LARK is symbolic of daybreak
Pic2: The black taxi is also called a hackney carriage, a STALE carriage?
Pic3: TOURNEDOS Rossini was a dish named after the composer of the opera, William Tell
Pic4: The APRON is that part of the theatre stage that juts into the audience
Pic5: The SETTER is the player in a volleyball team that sets up the ball for the spike (I know, you were understandably distracted)
Pic6: ANCHORAGES, located in some medieval churches, were the cells in which anchorites shut themselves off from the rest of the world.
Way too oblique for me: The last time you referred to a stage (traverse) you showed the darn thing, not the outside of the building. And I thought ‘hackney’ referred to the horse breed; An action shot in volleyball would have been kinder instead of an obviously posed picture.
Still, thanks for the fun.
@cookie: that did occur to me but I discounted it when I discovered that larks start singing well before dawn. I’ve never heard the expression here (Vancouver Island). They are an endangered species here, and no more in Oregon and Washington state.
I was just passing by, thanks scchua. Will miss you tomorrow, flashling says he is standing in for you.