(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A Neo on the lenient side. Thanks to Neo. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Love helping after fuss (9)
ADORATION : RATION(a helping;a portion handed out) placed after(after) ADO(a fuss).
6 Historian loses position in province (5)
MACAU : “Macaulay”(Thomas, British historian) minus(loses) “lay”(to position;to put in a particular place).
Answer: Former Portuguese colony, now a Chinese Special Administrative Region, a, well, some sort of a province.
9 New wallop’s drink brought round – it’s for Browning (7)
SUNLAMP : [ N(abbrev. for “new”) + LAM(to wallop;to thrash) ] contained in(… brought round) SUP(to drink).
Defn: …, the skin artificially, instead of in sunlight.
10 Paris, he messed around, grasping women (7)
HARPIES : Anagram of(… messed around) PARIS, HE.
Defn: Cruel greedy women, from the monsters in Greek mythology.
11 Mongrel at the start can’t bear hugs (5)
POOCH : The first letter of(at the start) “can’t” contained in(… hugs) POOH(Winnie-the-, from A.A. Milne’s children’s stories).
Defn: …, in slang.
12 Suggestion about benefit once topped (9)
REDOLENCE : RE(about;with reference to) + DOLE(social welfare benefit for the unemployed) + “once ” minus its 1st letter(topped).
Defn: Noun for being strongly suggestive or reminiscent of, perhaps, a distinctive odour.
14 Everyone in great central room beheaded (3)
ALL : “hall”(the great central room in a building for, say, assemblies, dining, concerts, etc.) minus its 1st letter(beheaded).
15 Cultural expert savaged in Aristotle (11)
ORIENTALIST : Anagram of(savaged) IN ARISTOTLE.
Defn: An expert in Eastern cultures.
17 Cutting free stone to be collected by a criminal (11)
ABRIDGEMENT : [ RID(to free of) + GEM(a precious stone) ] contained in(to be collected by) [A + BENT(criminal;crooked) ].
19 Wife in A&E shows fear and wonder (3)
AWE : W(abbrev. for “wife”) contained in(in) “A,E”(A&E).
20 Identify suspect information in digital feature? (9)
FINGERTIP : FINGER(to identify a suspect in a crime) + TIP(a piece of helpful information).
Defn: A feature not of the digits in binary code, but of those on your hand.
22 Dallas family for example embodies success (5)
EWING : E.G.(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”;for example) containing(embodies) WIN(a success).
Defn: Family in the soap opera.
24 In charge, English composer, one with cold manner (7)
ICEBERG : I.C.(abbrev. for “in charge”) + E(abbrev. for “English”) + BERG(Alban, Austrian composer).
Defn: …, figuratively.
26 Exclude posh stars in dull routine (4,3)
RULE OUT : [ U(characteristic of the upper-class;posh) + LEO(a constellation of stars) ] contained in(in) RUT(a dull routine in which one is stuck in).
27 Husband gets mum’s sister in trouble (5)
HAUNT : H(abbrev. for “husband”) plus(gets) AUNT(mum’s sister).
Defn: To trouble, as with unpleasant memories.
28 Lover fired on by lunatic (9)
BOYFRIEND : Anagram of(… lunatic) FIRED ON BY.
Down
1 Fabulist‘s revolutionary attitude allowed at first (5)
AESOP : Reversal of(revolutionary) [ POSE(an attitude) + the 1st letter of(… at first) “allowed ” ].
Answer: Storyteller credited with the fables collectively named after him.
2 Self-inflicted damage to have purpose (3,4)
OWN GOAL : OWN(to have;to possess) GOAL(a purpose;an end).
Defn: …, figuratively, from the literal meaning of scoring against your own team in a football match .
3 One in Honda car styled like Spider (9)
ARACHNOID : I(Roman numeral for “one”) contained in(in) anagram of(… styled) HONDA CAR.
Defn: …, the insect or, maybe, the Superhero.
4 Rude Neo is to the point (11)
IMPERTINENT : I’M(contraction of “I am”;”Neo is”, self-referentially) + PERTINENT(to the point;relevant).
5 Henry going climbing finds drama (3)
NOH : Reversal of(… climbing, in a down clue) [ H(symbol in physics for the Henry, the unit of inductance) + ON(going;operating, as with an electrical appliance) ].
Answer: Alternatively, No, the Japanese classic drama.
6 Picture motorway over Russian river? (5)
MURAL : M(abbrev. for “motorway”) placed above(over, in a down clue) URAL(the Central Russian river, rising in, well, the Ural Mountains).
Defn: … on a wall, or even a ceiling.
7 Letter to Greeks opposed to an Italian import? (7)
CHIANTI : CHI(the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet) + ANTI(opposed to).
Defn: …, a dry red wine from the region of the same name.
8 Sun forced European supporting former PM to pull out (9)
UNSHEATHE : Anagram of(… forced) SUN + [ E(abbrev. for “European”) placed below(supporting, in a down clue) HEATH(Edward, former British PM) ].
Defn: …, as from a scabbard, or, even, a prophylactic.
13 First to detect hidden person in social situation (6,5)
DINNER PARTY : The 1st letter of(First to) “detect ” + INNER(hidden;behind the exterior) + PARTY(a person on one side of, say, a dispute).
14 60s idol first man to get religion (4,5)
ADAM FAITH : ADAM(the biblical first man) + FAITH(a religion).
16 Might one offer oil trader supply that includes beer? (3,6)
ART DEALER : Anagram of(… supply) TRADER containing(that includes) ALE(beer).
Defn: … painting for sale.
18 Some lines about Drugs Enforcement Agency in sport (7)
RONDEAU : [ ON(about, as in “the lecture was on your favourite subject”) + D.E.A.(abbrev. for the Drug Enforcement Agency) ] contained in(in) RU(abbrev. for the sport of Rugby Union).
Answer: A poem of 13 or 10 lines, and other poetic characteristics.
19 Fatty, a pickpocket, got up right away (7)
ADIPOSE : A + DIP(slang for one who dips into your pocket unlawfully) + “rose”(got up;stood up) minus(… away) “r”(abbrev. for “right”).
Defn: Pertaining to fat compounds.
21 Still time to ride competitively (5)
EVENT : EVEN(still;to a greater degree, as in “an even bigger problem is …”) + T(abbrev. for “time”).
Defn: … in equestrian sports.
23 Good answer by rowdy teen kept in school (5)
GATED : G(abbrev. for “good”) + A(abbrev. for “answer”) plus(by) TED(short for “teddy boy”, a rowdy teenager in the 50s and 60s in Britain).
Defn: …, equivalent to being grounded at home.
25 Soft wet lump in desert I must leave (3)
GOB : “Gobi”(the desert of southeastern Mongolia and northern China) minus(… must leave) “I “.
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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 5 is the atomic bombing of Nagasaki…
…leading to an ABRIDGEMENT of WWII ?
pic 4, the ring, a RONDEAU, surely not FINGERTIP ? Captch 7 – ? = zero…
perhaps of interest, Prof. W.M. EWING developed a method of detecting atomic explosions using sound channels in the stratosphere…
pic 6, are there holes for FINGERTIPS in the ball ?
Yes Cookie, there are holes in the ball for the fingers, but you’re very close.
A company called MACAU seem to make bowling balls…
pic 4) Shows a case of eczema for which a SUNLAMP can be an effective therapy
pic 5) The use of a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki was the EVENT which caused the Japanese to surrender.
pic 3) Madonna being IMPERTINENT copying Marilyn Monroe ?? (stretch)
pic 2) Ten numbers roulette system, a RONDEAU is a poem with 10 lines ??
Thanks scchhua
pic 2, gambling is MACAU’s biggest source of revenue
ten pin bowling, ten FINGERTIPS…
Hi Freddy/Cookie
Pic4: yes
Pic5: The answer did cause Japan to surrender
Pic2: There are 2 links: MACAU is famous for its casinos. And that picture is linked to still another of the crossword’s solutions.
MACAU is going to host the International Tenpin Bowling Championships in June this year…
ah, it is the roulette pic we must associate with another answer…roulette, DEALER
The Nagasaki bomb was called FAT man.
#1 Gimli: I’ve heard enough! [to Legolas] Shoot him, stick an arrow in his GOB!
You lot, honestly!
Cookie/Freddy/Robi:
Pic1: Gimli the Dwarf. Lucy EWING was nicknamed the Poison Dwarf, obviously more goodlooking than Gimli
Pic2: The Roulettes were the backing group for ADAM FAITH in his later career
Pic3: There’s a Renaissance painting, Madonna of the HARPIES, hanging in the Uffizi
Pic5: An early instance of the Shock and AWE military tactic
Pic6: The FINGERTIP grip is used by most professional tenpin bowlers.
Thanks for participating.
P.S. And obviously, the views expressed in posts are not those of the blogger, in fact, occasionally, they are in stark opposition. So keep on keeping on.
I have seen the painting in the Uffizi, but would never have associated it with ‘Madonna’! Thanks scchua for the fun.
P.S. looking at the painting again, I will in future associate it with her, the HARPIES on the base of the column bring to mind certain photos…