- Crossword 749 solution
Before anyone else does, let me say that 2 down is a rather poor clue, technically OK but with a surface reading that makes no sense. It looks like work in progress rather than a finished job. Silly me. Apart from that, I think I can say with due modesty that this puzzle has some quite pleasing clues though with the usual somewhat excessive reliance on anagrams.
There is a little bit of a movie/TV theme in this puzzle (1,6,16,32,24, 42) and a few local references and usages (eg lollies, 33d). Even if there is nothing local in these puzzles, I always try to avoid the strictly British references so common in the newspaper cryptics.
The explanations here are as explicit as I can make them and in future, depending on feedback, I might go for a more concise form. Please tell me what you think.
(See here for an online interactive version of this puzzle.)
| ACROSS | Answers, clues | Explanations |
| 1 | FILMGOERS | |
| Foil germs crawling around the bods in the fleapit | Anagram of foil germs (crawling around = anagram indicator). | |
| 6, 6D | SHORTLAND STREET | |
| Mad hatter sent lords soap | Anagram of hatter sent lords (Mad = anagram indicator). | |
| 11 | CUT DEAD | |
| Refuse to acknowledge what the pathologist might well do | Cryptic definition. | |
| 12 | PARISHIONER | |
| Churchgoer in European city with heroin problem | European city = PARIS, anagram of heroin (problem = anagram indicator). | |
| 13 | DRIPS | |
| Medico and I with an afterthought find postnasal symptom | afterthought = PS. | |
| 14 | SURGEON | |
| He makes nurse go crazy | Anagram of NURSE GO (crazy = anagram indicator). | |
| 15 | DOSED | |
| Given some medicine back in Lourdes, oddly enough | Hidden word backwards in LourDES ODdly. | |
| 16 | MINISERIES | |
| Woes gather in a programme with a small number of episodes | Woes = MISERIES, gather = containment indicator for IN. | |
| 19 | BELLBIRD | |
| British, ill-bred, sloppy, she apparently rings Kiwis at dawn? | British = B (as in BBC), sloppy = anagram indicator. | |
| 22 | UNBURNT | |
| Turn bun quickly before it is over-toasted | quickly = anagram indicator (quick in the sense of alive or animated) | |
| 25 | CRUEL | |
| Brutal filthy lucre | filthy = anagram indicator. | |
| 26 | FRIES | |
| Ref is wrong, does his chips | anagram of REF IS. | |
| 28 | ERATO | |
| The muse of love is in the refrigerator | Hidden word in refrigERATOr. | |
| 29 | MORSE | |
| There is a point in additional code | point = S (compass point), additional = MORE. | |
| 30 | SHIMMER | |
| Boil slowly, getting hot inside with a tremulous light | hot = H (as on taps). | |
| 31 | WAKENING | |
| Rousing a friend for Barbie in the annex | friend for Barbie = KEN, annex = WING. | |
| 32 | WALL STREET | |
| Wastrel let loose where investments fail repeatedly | Anagram of WASTREL LET. | |
| 36 | INNER | |
| Victor is decapitated nearer the centre | Subtraction, w/INNER | |
| 38 | JONQUIL | |
| One of the bloomers used by DJ on quiltmaking duty | Hidden word, DJ ON QUILtmaking. | |
| 40 | GULPS | |
| Takes a quick swig – stopper put back – start to sway | stopper = PLUG, start to sway = S | |
| 42 | GOOD MORNING | |
| A timely greeting for the virtuous, grief-stricken so they say | virtuous = GOOD, grief-stricken = MOURNING, so they say = homophone indicator. | |
| 43 | INSIPID | |
| Swim is half-nice when going back but lacks impact the other way | Reversal of DIP IS NI (half-nice). | |
| 44 | RATEPAYER | |
| A householder must be – probably reluctantly – represented by a rare type | Anagram of A RARE TYPE (represented by = anagram indicator). | |
| 45 | DISCOVERY | |
| A new finding: voices become distorted in drought conditions | Anagram of VOICES in DRY. | |
| DOWN | ||
| 1 | FACED | |
| Had a meal, grabbing bill when confronted | bill = AC (common abbreviation of account). | |
| 2 | LATVIAN | |
| Bent nail receives a set from the Baltic | Anagram of NAIL receives = container indicator, a set = A TV. | |
| 3 | GUESS | |
| Reckon visitors have lost their team leader | Visitors = guests, lost = subtraction indicator, team leader = T. | |
| 4 | END USER | |
| Finish with an opportunist as the last buyer | Finish = END, opportunist = USER. | |
| 5 | SUPER | |
| This pension is great | Double definition. | |
| 6 | SEE 6 ACROSS | |
| 7 | ORSON WELLES | |
| Old actor’s child healthy with minerals applied externally | Old actor’s = old actor is, child healthy = SON WELL, minerals = ORES | |
| 8 | THIRD | |
| This will probably come to you after a second | Cryptic definition. | |
| 9 | AGNOSTICISM | |
| Religious scepticism resulting from a misinterpretation of atomic signs | Anagram of ATOMIC SIGNS. | |
| 10 | DERIDED | |
| Mocked and sacked as a jockey? | Cryptic definition. | |
| 16 | MOUSE | |
| Think at length about nothing but a rodent | Think at length = MUSE. | |
| 17 | SIRLOIN | |
| Radical leader with oil, somehow involved in evildoing, the result of routine butchery | Radical leader = R, oil somehow = LOI, evildoing = SIN. | |
| 18 | ENCORE | |
| Perhaps it’s a sergeant major entering before the extra performance | sergeant major = NCO (non-commissioned officer), entering = container indicator, before = ERE. | |
| 20 | LEFTIST | |
| Fits badly inside, allowed to be a pinko | Fits badly = FTIS, allowed = LET. | |
| 21 | EUREKA | |
| With a cry of discovery, loudly accuse someone of being a stinker | Sounds like YOU REEKER (loudly = homophone indicator.) | |
| 23 | BLACKING OUT | |
| Swooning is substandard in a boxing match | substandard = LACKING, boxing match = BOUT. | |
| 24 | TOM AND JERRY | |
| Trendy major animated movie characters | Anagram of TRENDY MAJOR (animated = anagram indicator). | |
| 27 | STRUT | |
| Walk proudly with support | Double definition. | |
| 31 | WHINGER | |
| A moaning type of rugby player taking heroin | rugby player = WINGER, heroin = H. | |
| 33 | LOLLIES | |
| Sell oil to make confectionery | Anagram of SELL OIL. | |
| 34 | ELLIPSE | |
| See when confused about tablet being upside down and an oval shape | Anagram of SEE, about = containment indicator tablet = PILL upside down = reversal indicator. | |
| 35 | INKIER | |
| More unpleasant to the nose? No way, just a lot darker | Subtraction, STINKIER minus ST = way (as in street). | |
| 37 | REMAP | |
| Set me up in hip-hop to make the new chart | me up (reversal indicator) = EM inside hip-hop = RAP. | |
| 39 | URGED | |
| Recommended being terribly rude about Greek leader | Anagram of RUDE, about = containment indicator, Greek leader = G. | |
| 40 | GUSTO | |
| Puff on oxygen to get vigorous enjoyment | Puff = GUST, oxygen = O. | |
| 41 | SADLY | |
| Deceptive about the Christian era, alas | Deceptive = SLY, Christian era = AD. |
Barrie, see my comments on the revised 751 posting. In summary, I now see that the use of IC for 99 and IM for 999 are well established cryptic crossword conventions, attested to in the literature.
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When you get round to it, I enjoyed the bigger-format 751 but being picky I’m not convinced about IC for 99 in 13 down. I reckon 99 is XCIX. Perhaps the clue should have said “one hundred” or “a hundred” for IC rather than 99?
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