Many thanks to everyone who had a go at this year’s cryptic quiz sheet. You raised well over £600 for our work in Hastings Sierra Leone. It seems to have been a bit more difficult this time, but we still had a good batch of 70/70. The answers and explanations are at the bottom of this article.
Congratulations to Hilary Oughton, Ally Macdonald, Margaret Macdonald, Jean Baker, Chris Chantler, Janie Bullus, Robert Greenhill, Tim MacDonald, Andrew Ashenhurst, Steve Greenhill, Clive Buddle, Maddy Coelho, John Parsons, who all scored a full house.
The tie-breaker winning clues were all very neat, each in its own way:
1. Tim MacDonald : Circle circles circled- Snappy (9). crocodile- admittedly top level of difficulty for this competition, but very clever
2. Chris Chantler: Bird moves gradually and quietly inside school (5,7). hedge sparrow – a classically constructed clue
3. Ally Macdonald: The quiet romantic type (6) plover – a beautifully elegant clue
The rest of the 70s:
My girl came round without texting “Good Luck” (8). myrmecia (anagram of my girl came minus GL – but a bit too obscure?)
Sounds like someone’s overdone the carol singing (5). Horse
Warmer in the East End? It may take a dip to cool off (5). Otter
Trio toes the line – very slowly! Tortoise
HIJKLMNO confuses tell-tale (5,5) water snake
Electric company for inky or perky (6). Pigeon
A huge meal with fish on its menu (6). Osprey
Crude copper age vital for early airmail (6). Pigeon
Gettin’ dressed up, with a hood to fleece the wealthy (5) robin
Goodness me! Why would you visit Skegness in winter? (4). smew
More (some of which work, some don’t) but not eligible as 70/70 tie-breakers
Ray Foxell’s ‘Knock back the booze – it packs a punch (6) : reebok; and Pat Watkins’ ‘Proprietor’s dad redesigned a panto prop or two’ (8,6): trapdoor spider, both get a little extra prize
I really liked Steve Hazelton’s ‘Take the plane messed up, to find out who remembers it all’ (8) elephant. (If only Steve had started with, say, ‘Investigate the plane crash… ‘crash’ would be a great way to hint at an anagram – it ‘s so much more satisfying when all the bits of a clue work together, like Ray Foxell’s one.)
Back crude gas (4) lion
Feral drone carries drug over the road (10): wildebeest
Take the plane messed up, to find out who remembers it all (8) elephant
Pork movement we hear (7) hamster
Give a herb a gun for nothing (9). Armadillo
The cake contains some poison (8) tortoise
Ella, Alessia and Chloe, but not Elsa (7). Lioness
Sounds like a perm in the Ladies (6). Curlew
Crimson camera? No, it’s pargo (3,7) red snapper
Their football tem’s mascot is Cyril (5) swans (but more general knowledge than cryptic)
Now’s the time for hanging frosty decorations (4,7) snow bunting
Internet imposter with whiskers (7) catfish
Does the wren get zero in tennis? (8) lovebird
I hear this bird asking ‘Which people use the lavatory?’ (6) hoopoe
A celebration with flakes and flags (4,7). corn bunting
A practical person will include someone with supernatural powers (9) dowitcher
Twenty-one shillings could get you this little porker (6,3) guinea pig
Hair apparent? No, only feathers (4,5). bald eagle
Mrs Boyle acted this way (7). katydid
She’s in the middle of casting spells (9) dowitcher
Answers and explanations:
- LEMUR. (sounds like Lima)
- FERRET F= loud, err = make mistake. ET = alien
- ALPACA. Acapella minus le (the in French), reversed (Both acappella and acapella are allowed)
- BEAVER As in ‘eager beaver’, and it fells trees
- CARIBOU Sounds like carry boo
- COYOTE First letters of first 6 words
- ALLIGATOR. As in “See you later, alligator!”
- CLAM anagram (troubled) of calm (=untroubled)
- LIMPET I MP inset let
- CHEETAH Che (Guevara) + hate reversed
- GERBIL hidden inside bigger billabong
- RATTLESNAKE anagram (boiled) of ran as kettle
- AARDWARK AA + rdv (rendezvous) + ark
- RACCOON RAC (rival 0f AA) + co + on (working)
- CAPYBARA Anagram
- COUGAR CO (commanding officer) + ragu reversed
- PANDA extremes (first & last letters) of Patagonia: p and a
- PANTHER Pan + first letter of tickling + Her(a)
- PORCUPINE anagram of pun copier
- WALRUS 50 = L + ru (texters’ ‘are you’ ) inside was
- RHINOCEROS anagram of hornier cos
- ZEBRA hidden in bronze brass. (sloths couldn’t be justified as a cryptic clue answer)
- KOALAS KO (knocked out, unconscious) + alas (unfortunately)
- ARMADILLO Amarillo including D (for Democrat) , and the r moved to the left
- PANGOLIN anagram (bungled) of login after nap reversed
- AXOLOTL Twitter now = X inside anagram (strange shape) of all too
- MEERKAT anagram
- BONOBO (Dr) No inside BO (twice)
- ANTEATER A + NT + eater
- FENNEC fen + NEC (National Exhibition Centre)
- YAK. Kay reversed. (Peter Kay, Kathie Kay)
- MUNTJAC DEER anagram (skittish) of mere adjunct
- BARN OWL First letters of first 9 words
- PARROT Par = standard, rot = tripe
- MERGANSER ans (short for answer) inside merger
- DODO Sounds like dough, doubled
- CORMORANT blimey = Cor + MO (initials of Mike Oldfield) + rant
- TERN. Even letters of the wren. (My earlier version of this one incorrectly suggested odd letters, so I accepted ERNE – sea eagle )
- FLAMINGO. Ardent = flaming + O
- LAPWING lap = overtake (as in a race) + wing (as in football)
- PEEWIT (!)
- CORN BUNTING. rnb (Rhythm ‘n’Blues) inside counting. (Reed warbler doesn’t work)
- NIGHTJAR. night + Raj reversed
- FIELDFARE field (picnic area) + fare (food)
- JACKDAW jack (as in device for lifting heavy item) + daw(n)
- MANX SHEARWATER. Area around Douglas is Manx + sounds like sheer water
- OYSTERCATCHER anagram (reform) of the scarce Tory
- HUMMINGBIRD Spoonerism: bumming herd (to bum = to cadge, scrounge)
- BUDGERIGAR anagram of a big red rug
- GREAT AUK. Hidden in émigré at a UK (ignoring accent)
- MOSQUITO First letters (heads) of Mac operating system + Quito
- TSETSE FLY anagram (out) of lefty sets
- YELLOW JACKET wasp
- VINE WEEVIL. Vine + w/e. + evil. I accepted boll weevil (Boll for Bollinger)
- SCARAB (anger without the middle letters) inside scab
- SILKWORM. anagram of slim work
- MEALYBUG. anagram of may bulge
- HEAD LOUSE. eadl (deal mixed up) inside house
- BRIMSTONE. anagram of on timbers
- ESSEX SKIPPER. skip = play truant
- PAINTED LADY. anagram of panty ad lied
- SWALLOWTAIL. The Ouroboros swallowed its own tail
- DUNG BEETLE. anagram of gentle Bude
- CATERPILLAR. cater + pillar
- BED BUG. ED (Bachelor of Education) plus (computer) bug
- LOCUST locus = place + t for time
- STICK INSECT. stick (refuse to leave) in sect
- GRASSHOPPER. initial letters of gets ready at sunrise + shopper
- SLUG (slug = bullet). I also accepted GRUB and FLEA (flee) as it was a poor clue.
- COLORADO BEETLE