Punt may mean a river boat, a kick, or a wine bottle’s hollow. Ready for a punt with these double-meaning clues of 2009, the pick of the calendar’s top half.
Make fast journey in other people’s cars (5) [Orlando]
Couple prepare for impact (5) [Times 8294]
I could be Irish (6) [Cinephile]
Went off as the revolver did (6) [Alaun]
Accepted a commanding postion (7) [Paul]
HOMOPHONE ANSWERS: Mist, attorney, udder, chauffeur [shofar], Uzi
You, we hear, may be ewe. Or yew. Or U. You ready? Here are the best sound clues (so far) of 2009.
Veil passed over the ears (4) [???]
A jousting contest said to be brief (8) [Times 8271]
Suffering a cold, talk about other source of milk (5) [Mudd]
Driver sounded horn (9) [Times ???]
Heard question about identity of Cockney killer (3) [Times 8376]
CHARADE ANSWERS: Fleet, adore, more, buffaloes, economist
If together can be dismantled into TO-GET-HER, then put your wits together to untangle these E-LEG-ANT examples of the charade clue, all culled from 2009 crosswords:
Quick run ending in wicket (5) [Paul]
Love hoarding foreign coin (5) [Armonie]
Just one part of me wanted extra (4) [Virgilius]
Polish plants and animals (9) [Cincinnus]
Financial expert giving English firm clear forecast (9) [Times 8350]
ANAGRAM ANSWERS: Macbeth, thirtieth, estimate, Aeneid, underpants, alternate, absenteeism
If we give you the hearts of three related words or names, can you supply the wholes? RAP, RANG and EMO, for example, point to grape, orange, lemon. Can you pick these other peeled trios?
yen, ease, lot
ryde, ilk, ant
air, then, uni
ewe, she, tin
ear, erne, or
err, run, ooze
live, at, arouse
ran, sets, arc
ear, ape, otter
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB211 SOLUTION: Each entity embraces a famed pair of brothers: Blues, Umbilical, Leyland, Mills, Chemical, Righteous, Wright
PERSIST, and test your STRIPES with these seven anagram gems from the first half of 09:
Play in match and be beaten (7) [Falcon]
Pearl divers hit their target, primarily (9) [Paul]
Teatime’s wind gauge (7) [Cincinnus]
An idee (not fixe) about epic (6) [Cinephile]
Boxers and punters rioting (10) [Moodim]
Every second letter an ‘a’ - bananas? (9) [Satori]
Being out of one’s class in semis, beaten badly (11) [Times 8380]
HIDDEN ANSWERS: Heron, bric-a-brac, Vietnamese, at rest, taller
Only a crossword setter would pounce upon CONDOR, hiding in ’second ornithologist’. See how quickly you can snare these 5 hiddens, the pick of the year so far.
Bird eaten by another one (5) [Times 8270]
Rubric “abracadabra” revealing old curiosities (4-1-4) [Sleuth]
Nationality of Soviet names established (10) [Paul]
Theatre stage housing not working (2,4) [Brummie]
Less likely contribution to wheat allergy (6) [Paul]
SMALLER IS BEAUTIFULER ANSWERS: Stern, bristle, supply, piece, ounce, acre, modest
What links Hill Street Blues, an umbilical cord, British Leyland, windmills, chemical warfare and a self-righteous playwright?
SOLUTION NEXT WEEK
BB210 SOLUTION: Calmer karma, barred bard, banned band, paltry poultry, coughers’ coffers, lacquer lacker, medal meddle, cashew cachou
How low can you go? Among these clues, all pulled from the days when my hall of fame neglected to note the compiler in question, you’ll find some of the skinniest pieces of wordplay possible.
For the same reason, I’d wager a few of these specimens offer more than one solution, though all the official answers are no doubt delightful. G’luck.
Paperback (5)
See red hair (7)
Give givingly (6)
Gunman (5)
Cat in pound (5)
Mid-Holy Land (4)
Unassuming ways (6)
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL ANSWERS: Repair, stretch, sway, plant, mind, tacit, awing
One small image for mankind, one big pic for this Jacobean blogger. After four years on the airwaves, posting stories and wordsmith whimsy, this mock-magazine marks my first dabble into graphics.
Ridiculous, I know. Fred Flinstone would have j-pegged by now, while the Unabomber would surely be mounting browser polls and You Tube snippets, if not blogrolling Anarchy R Us…
Jennifer Aniston comes care of The Onion, the lampoon caucus out of New York to whom I’m indebted. If you like The Chaser, you’ll adore The Onion, both sets of saboteurs distorting current affairs with undergrad flair.
Less pics than puzzles, the next few weeks of content will be locked into autopilot as I head offshore for some important crossword business on a virgin atoll, downing the dictionary for a guava daiquiri. The usual Birdbrains will bob up, as well as some juicy clues I’ve collected in early 09: a mid-year review of Clues of Repute. Aloha.
Before Polonius was stabbed through his arras, the Danish sage opined brevity to be wit’s soul. And if the eminence gris was still kicking today, he may well appreciate the array of succinct clues below. All culled from English cryptics, with due credit, these seven embody the beauty of the brief.
See how many you can unravel before I provide the answers, and seven more li’l gems, in a week or so.
Make good move (6) [Arachne]
Last time (7) [Paul]
Wave power (4) [Taupi]
Police trap works (5) [Mass]
Exploited said object (4) [Boatman]
Implied one unharmed? (5) [Paul]
Flying is dreadful (5) [Araucaria]