(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.) A relatively easy and nice puzzle (until the LOI). Thanks to Crucible. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 A mother is in club with daughter, as is 6 (11)
MACADAMISED : [A + DAM(a female parent of an animal, especially a domesticated mammal) + IS ]contained in(in)MACE(an armour-crushing club from the Middle Ages) plus(with) D(abbrev. for “daughter”).
Defn: As is the surface of a dual carriageway, the answer to 6 down.
9 Nitrogen does spread over tops of underground lumps — these? (7)
NODULES : N(symbol for the chemical element, nitrogen) + anagram of(… spread) DOES containing(over) the 1st letters, respectively, of(tops of) “underground lumps “.
Defn: …, lumps, that is.
10 A Native American owns a good amount of land (7)
ACREAGE : A + CREE(a member of a Native American people) containing(owns) [A + G(abbrev. for “good”) ].
11 Western China hosts the Mexican firm, putting out the red carpet (9)
WELCOMING : W(abbrev. for “western”) + MING(relating to chinaware produced during the Ming Dynasty in China) containing(hosts) [ EL(Spanish for “the”, as is spoken in Mexico) + CO(abbrev. for “company”, a commercial firm) ].
12 Raleigh produced it to help make policy clear (5)
CYCLE : Hidden in(to help make) “policy clear “.
Defn: The “it” produced by the Raleigh Bicycle Company originally based in Nottingham, England.
13 Young Farmers’ leaders gather eggs for teenagers (4)
YOOF : The 1st letters, respectively, of(…s’ leaders) “Young Farmers ” containing(gather) OO(letters that resemble, almost, of two eggs, or, that resemble the family jewels;eggs if you like).
Answer: A humorous or facetious spelling of “youth”;teenagers.
14 Try getting a bit in Morecambe in vain (10)
EGOCENTRIC : [ GO(a try, as in “have a go at solving this”) plus(getting) CENT(a small coin;a bit) ] contained in(in) ERIC(Morecambe, half of the duo with Ernie Wise).
16 Got even on time, a trifle upset (10)
RETALIATED : RE(referring to;on, as in “to write on the subject of …”) + T(abbrev. for “time”) + A + reversal of(… upset) DETAIL(a trifle;a small bit of a whole).
19 Big wheels left No 10 clutching millions (4)
LIMO : L(abbrev. for “left”) + IO(letters resembling the number 10) containing(clutching) M(abbrev. for “millions”).
Defn: …, the latter as a slang for a “car”.
20 Female glowing about top-class trick cyclist (5)
FREUD : F(abbrev. for “female”) + RED(descriptive of something emitting heat or on fire;glowing, as in “red-hot”) containing(about) U(characteristic of the upper-class;top-class).
Defn: …, as slang for “psychiatrist”, from deliberate malapropism of the latter.
21 Woman’s guzzling Gold Label, when stocks are low (9)
SHORTAGES : SHE(third person pronoun for a woman)‘S
containing(guzzling) [ OR(in heraldry, the colour of gold) + TAG(a label) ].
23 Working men in rage smelt this (4,3)
IRON ORE : [ ON(working, as with an electrical appliance, say) + OR(abbrev. for “other ranks”, non-commissioned men in the military) ] contained in(in) IRE(rage;anger).
Defn: The “this” that goes through smelting to retrieve pure metal.
24 Firm currently in recession secured by industry (4-3)
HARD-WON : HARD(firm;resolute) + reversal of(… in recession) NOW(currently;at this point in time).
Defn: … or hard work.
25 Desires simple advice for road users (5,6)
DRIVE SLOWLY : DRIVES(desires that serve to motivate) + LOWLY(simple;basic;unpretentious).
Down
1 Average hog’s infuriating position? (6-2-3-4)
MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD : Double defn: 2nd: … or a position taken up by a road hog, that is.
2 Instrument collector wraps one up (5)
CELLO : Hidden in(… wraps one) reversal of(… up, in a down clue) “collector “.
3 Dog nonetheless eats a bone with it (7)
DASHING : “Dog” minus(…-theless) “o”(letter signifying 0;none) containing(eats) [A + SHIN(a bone in your leg) ].
Defn: … or fashionable;trendy;stylish.
“-theless” as a deletion indicator didn’t help.
4 Mopes about, exiting Olympic Games racked with muscle pain (7)
MYALGIC : Anagram of(… racked) “Olympic Games ” minus(…, exiting) anagram of(… about) “Mopes“. Good surface.
5 London XV run in without Parisian (8)
SARACENS : RACE(to run) contained in(in) SANS(French for “without”, as a Parisian would say).
Defn: A particular London-based rugby team (of 15 players).
6 Artery severed with reservation (4,11)
DUAL CARRIAGEWAY : Cryptic defn: A major thoroughfare with a reservation;the strip of land separating traffic going in opposite directions.
7 Feature of 6 distracts a few in factory (3-3,7)
ONE-WAY TRAFFIC : Anagram of(distracts) A FEW IN FACTORY.
Defn: …, the answer to 6 down, that is.
8 Novelist tackles gripping stuff in Dangerous Junction (5,8)
LEVEL CROSSING : LESSING(Doris, English author) containing(tackles) VELCRO(the material that grips on to itself, used as a substitute for zippers, say).
Defn: Dangerous because that’s where rail and road traffic cross each other.
15 Boy employed by Joe on oil rig oddly blossoms (8)
GLADIOLI : LAD(a boy) contained in(employed by) GI(Joe;a US soldier) plus(on, in a down clue) the 1st, 3rd, and 5th letters of(… oddly) “oil rig“.
17 One American tree shattered grave (7)
AUSTERE : A(one of something) + US(descriptive of things American) + anagram of(… shattered) TREE.
18 English mate guards old church over many years (7)
EPOCHAL : E(abbrev. for “English”) + PAL(a friend;a mate) contained in(guards) [ O(abbrev. for “old”) + CH(abbrev. for “church”) ].
22 Launch brief article on line (5)
THROW : “the”(an article in grammar) minus
its last letter(brief …) plus(on, in a down clue) ROW(a line of a series of arranged items).
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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 2, I think they must have MYALGIC pain in their shoulder muscles!
Thanks for the picture quiz, scchua, but I’m pretty much drawing a blank at the moment. The only thought is that DUAL CARRIAGEWAY somehow links to Tweedledum and Tweedledee Pic 6), though Pic 2 seems to featyre a pair of twins too!
#1 – Greek gods, including ARES? Ares is also the plural form of are, for the metric unit of land measurement (ACREAGE.)
The girls in Pic 2 seem to feature rather large NODULES on their chests?
Tweedledee spoiled Tweedledum’s new rattle, so the latter RETAILATED?
#2 & #6: ‘The idea of the “mirror stage” is an important early component in Lacan’s critical reinterpretation of the work of FREUD.’
Are TRAFFIC cones too obvious?
I don’t see any GLADIOLI (Latin for little swords) in 1, but maybe they are there or in the Norsemen one.
Hints:
Pic1: Robi, you’ve got the right 2 ends of the link, but it’s a different connection from what you’ve suggested
Pic2: Don’t forget the background
BTW, pic4’s answer is NOT 6 down, nor 7 down, nor 25 across.
#5 EPOCHAL celebration of the joys of Christmas on Christmas Eve.
Certainly traffic cones are a sign to DRIVE SLOWLY.
Christmas Eve is the last day of Advent, an AUSTERE period, though you wouldn’t know it these days.
@8; ACREAGE now measured in ares?
2. Madame Tussaud’s is mentioned in “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” sung by Poohbah in The Mikado, a link to RETALIATED?
Pic 5:- DASHING through the snow (jingle bells) or DASHer delivering presents on Christmas Eve?
FREUD’s ‘On Narcissism’ describes EGOCENTRIC behaviour, maybe #2 & 6?
Pic 6:- Scottish pop group “Middle Of The Road” had a 1971 hit with “Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum”.
Pic 4, these seem to be called “tennis cones”, tennis courts are often MACADAMISED…
#4 Almost all NODULES found in thin films are characterized by an inverted CONE .
Pic 2:- I think the link is “Egocentric”. The (so-called) celeb is Kim Kardashian, whose waxwork model at Mme Tussauds took selfies.
‘After Kim Kardashian and her mother-manager Kris Jenner announced plans to release her debut scent and name it DASHING – after their LA clothing boutique Dash – Khloe and older sister Kourtney were furious.
Pic 4, there appear to be cones in the multipolar spindle of GLADIOLI – whatever that means…
Rullytully @18; yes, and Kim Kardashian has a YouTube thingy about taking the perfect selfie = EGOCENTRIC.
scchua; time for a reality check?
Pic 4, the flower spikes of GLADIOLI are often referred to as cones.
Pic 6, Tweedledum and Tweedledee were likened to FREUD and Yung by James Joyce.
Pic 1 is the “Story of Psyche” by Raffaello and some of his pupils, one of a CYCLE of frescos from the Golden Ass by Apuleius in the Villa Farnesina, Rome, but see Robi @3 and scchua @8.
Pic 1 is thus unlikely to have anything to do with FREUD, psychiatrist.
pic 1:- (see Cookie @25) wasn’t FREUD interested in the psyche?
sorry Cookie we crossed
pic 3 is a Kickstarter project. Wasn’t this a reaction to the credit crunch and the AUSTERity that followed?
{I refuse to investigate pic 2, because I might sully my ignorance of this person!}
Pic 2, the bars on either side of the “waxworks” may be chromium plated, Cr has an atomic number of 24 in the periodic table.
Well, that was a nutty answer, I am referring to two pictures! Sorry.
Pic 2, the bars on either side of the “waxworks” are of IRON…
Shirl@13, yes, it’s DASHer, as mentioned in the poem, ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
Rulltully@15, you’ve got pic6 correct.
Hints:
Pic1: A singular God (you might need to Google this one)
Pic2: What’re are in Tussauds’ in general, not just of Kim What’s-her-name
Pic3: Northmen=Norsemen
Pic4: Look for anatomical cones (might need Google too).
Pic 2, the waxworks are of people with EPOCHAL, or EPOCH making lives…
Pic 2:- bees like GLADIOLI, they make wax, Mme T produces waxworks
Pic 3:- Wagner’s Ring CYCLE is about norse legends
Shirl @37
Good idea, but I think Wagner took as his source the older(?) Germanic forms of the Norse legends; hence Wotan rather than Odin, for instance.
I’ve nothing better, though!
Pic3: Look into Norse sagas.
Pic 3, Sigmund is a hero in Norse mythology, Sigmund FREUD…
Right, Cookie!
Cones are the colour receptors in the eye. No connection, though……
Pic 4, there is the visual CYCLE of the cone receptors in the retina…
You’re on the right track, muffin. Just needs more delving into. (It is hard/not widely known, I agree. Unless you’re an ophthalmologist , perhaps.) And the answer does not necessarily involve the whole of the clue’s solution.
I’ve found a “nodular degeneration of the retina” through Google?
Correction; that’s the cornea rather than the retina.
…..but there do seem to be retinal ones too, though I haven’t confirmed that they involve cones.
Pic4:- are we slicing the final O from CELLO for cone cells?
Hi all
Pic1: God’s Little ACRE is a novel (later made into a movie) by American author Erskine Caldwell
Pic2: Dummies (a wax one shown here) are stage props used by ventriloquists who THROW their voices
Pic4: The MACADAM Ellipse marks the area in a colour diagram within which our cone receptors cannot distinguish surrounding colours on the diagram from the one at the centre of the Ellipse.
Thanks scchua – I’m thoroughly defeated by you this time 🙂
Thanks scchua
Me too, but thanks.
Thanks scchua for the fun, I would never have got those last ones!
Thanks scchua; pretty impossible last ones.