Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link

The Orange Quiz Sheet: the answers and the winners!

Thanks, everyone who bought an orange quiz sheet. We raised at least £500 towards the Schools Sanitation Project – some monies still to come in.

Congratulations to everyone who wrestled with the clues. We had 53 sheets returned, and 16 quizzers scored 70/70.  It seems that it was a bit harder than some years, but Glaucus received some nice comments.

It was hard to select the 3 best tie-breaker clues amongst the 70/70s. Choosing is a very subjective thing.  Glaucus looks for clues in which all the bits of the clue have some sort of logical connection, like this year’s nº 59: Retreating crowd starts brandishing axes. However, the clue that stood out for its clever construction was Circled circled circle circle (9)  – for CROCODILE , from Tim McDonald (Hastings). Clive Buddle (Tonbridge) and Lynnie Porter (Tring) came hot on Tim’s heels.  Other perfect scores from Stephen Nye, Maddy Coelho, Hilary Oughton, Val Piper, Susan Bilsby, Ray Foxell, Stewart Buchan, Anna Foster, Mick Pegram and Robert Greenhill.

Glaucus gives another little prize for the clue that tickles his fancy, even if the writer didn’t score 70. He couldn’t decide between Roger Mitchell’s ingenious clue for SCARAB: “Captain, have you a sound fall-back position?” “Yes, sir!” and Andrew Ashenhurst’s clue for WHIRLIGIG: Spooner announces it’s something he wears when cross-dressing.

Here are the answers with explanations. Apologies for calling a hermit crab a mammal.

Birds

  1. Crow. Reversed, hidden in Worcester
  2. Barn owl. Anagram    of RAN inside B…OWL
  3. Pied wagtail. Anagram of AWED inside P..IGTAIL
  4. Goshawk. Hidden in gosh awkward
  5. Gannet. ANNE inside G and T
  6. Kittiwake. Witty cake (Spoonerism)
  7. Avocet. Anagram of OCTAVE
  8. Dunnock. Anagram of NUN   in the D…OCK
  9. Redwing. R (Republican), + D (Democrat) inside EWING
  10. Raven. Craven = cowardly, minus initial c-
  11. Ptarmigan.Anagram of AMP RATING
  12. Jay. Sounds like the letter J
  13. Secretary bird. Charlie Parker’s nickname = “Bird”. PA = secretary
  14. Sandpiper. I inside sandpaper (wet & dry), minus -a-       But Keith Sellens’ TIDDY-WREN works equally well: an amazing coincidence.
  15. Snipe. NIP inside S(outh) E(ast)
  16. Puffin. Puffing minus -g (gravity)
  17. Nightingale. NIGHT IN GALE / (Mary) Nightingale.
  18. Rook. = chess piece (castle) / to cheat
  19. Spoonbill. SPOON (kiss and cuddle) on BILL (account)
  20. Swallow. Synonym of gulp
  21. Turnstone. Spoonerism: harsh manner when addressing = stern tone
  22. Dipper. Slang for pickpocket / big dipper = scary fairground ride
  23. Grebe. Hidden in meagre benefits (5)
  24. Warbler. Anagram of REBEL WAR without E
  25. Goldcrest. GOLD = First class. CREST = top of (mountain) range
  26. Spotted flycatcher. Saw = SPOTTED + CATCH in FLY…ER
  27. Ringed plover. P = quiet, swain = LOVER.  RINGED = wearing wedding band/ring

Mammals

  1. Stoat. Anagram of TOAST
  2. Mongoose. My French -= MON bird = GOOSE  (famous for killing snakes)
  3. Blue Whale. BLUE = low, WHALE sounds like ‘wail’
  4. Ocelot. Hidden in sotto voce lots
  5. Marmot. Spoil = MAR + M.O.T
  6. Tapir. Anagram (wild) of PARTIES without e’s (ecstasy tabs)
  7. Otter.   hotter with the initial h dropped
  8. Weasel. Warhol starts = W + EASEL
  9. Reindeer. Sounds like ‘rain dear’
  10. Skunk. Potassium = K inside SUNK
  11. Sloth. One of the 7 deadly sins
  12. Przewalski’s (horse). Anagram of WALKER’S ZIPS. (Had to be spelled correctly!)
  13. Giraffe. Anagram of IF FARAGE minus -a-
  14. Ounce.  Cat/ weight
  15. Groundhog. Minced = GROUND. Pork = HOG
  16. Orca. Hidden in or Canadian
  17. Leopard. Anagram of PAROLED
  18. Lynx.  So, just the other half of asLY miNX
  19. Coypu. Hidden in decoy put
  20. Llama. A MALL reversed
  21. Opossum. Love = O + POSSUM.  (a fan, not fans)
  22. Vampire bat. Anagram (suggested by ‘shindig’) of AMBER AT VIP
  23. Hermit crab. HER = girl’s + MIT = with in German + CRAB = crabby person, sourpouss
  24. Spectacled bear. Attach end of BEARD to SPECTACLE
  25. Chipmunk. MUNK sounds like monk [in (holy) orders]. Harry Ramsden’s = famous chippie. MONKFISH worked, too.
  26. Peccary. Reversed in Zephyr Accept
  27. Wolverine. Anagram
  28. Warthog. HOGWART(S) (singular),  two halves changed around.  (‘hamster’ didn’t parse properly)
  29. Bushbaby. George W Bush’s origin
  30. Flying fox. Loud = F  false news peddling = LYING.  News Channel = FOX
  31. Agouti. A G.I. = one soldier.   Openly gay = OUT

Insects and other creepy-crawlies

  1. Bombyx. Crowd = MOB (rev.) starts brandishing = B  axes = Y & X axes (in maths)
  2. Cobra. Firm = CO  support = BRA  (national crisis committee)
  3. Flea. Back of LEAF to front
  4. Cockroach. Spoonerism: ROCK COACH
  5. Bee.  Spelling bee = test
  6. Wasp. White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. (Coventry rugby team known as Wasps)
  7. Aphid. Starting = Initial letters of All plantswomen hate its destructiveness
  8. Ladybird…President Lyndon B Johnson’s wife was known as Lady Bird
  9. Tick. As in a tick-box
  10. Louse. Maurice Chevalier song “Every little breeze seems to whisper Louise” (minus i )
  11. Butterfly. Small bet = FLUTTER. over  = BY.(Spoonerism)
  12. Dragonfly. FLAGON DRY (Spoonerism)

This year’s home-made tie-breakers. (Some aren’t really cryptic, or don’t quite work, and a couple are really obscure, but I’ve included them all.)

Birds

Sounds like a painful visit to a seaside town ()7).                                           wryneck

Might she put on the kettle?  (6)                                                                    parrot

Tea with a very loud short measurement (9)                                                 chaffinch

The result of taking up jogging – no good! (6).                                              puffin

Spooner might grumble a greeting (12).                                                        yellowhammer

TV producer adds fun (7)                                                                                skylark

US jail outbreak given a huge bill (6)                                                              toucan

Son and another boy identify summer visitor (4,6)                                       sand martin

Quiet heroine in the sheepfold (8)                                                                 starling

This high flyer an Oxford college? Sounds like it could be. (6)                      oriole

This ticklish well-read setter is actually gray, though scarlet up front. (5).   robin

Horse about and frolic (5,4)                                                                          shore lark

Put salt in a cocktail for this common bird (8)                                               starling

Queen in middle of dune and heather (10)                                                    sanderling

They might be playing at the liberty for their goals (5)                                  swans

Relax here – that’s the point! (7)                                                                   sparrow

Sounds like an Asian hall carpet. (6,6)                                                            indian runner

Of equal decomposition (6)                                                                            parrot

Cost of a shave, maybe? (9)                                                                           razorbill

 

 

 

Mammals

Should this chained animal be released into the wild? (7).                           echidna

Not in favour of changing support (7)                                                            antelope

Sounds like you ban a fruity monkey (7,3)                                                       barbary ape

Stream in Indian state for silverback (7)                                                        gorilla

Roasted lemons – it can smell them underwater (4-5,4)                               star-nosed mole

**Valiant maidens out to get this beast (9,5)                                    tasmanian devil

Only black and white answer in a cryptic quiz that nags at you until completed (6)   badger

Nurturing place by apple tree (6)                                                                   wombat

Babble endlessly at Wayne but not Rey (6)                                                   baboon

Bone maybe round about rise (10)                                                                chinchilla

Stop that first woman becoming involved – dammit! (6)                              beaver

Finish the fight against French in the nude, we hear (5,4).                            koala bear

Weaponise single herb before duck  (9)                                                        armadillo

Hector discovered in bar going ape (6)                                                          baboon

Looks like a Welsh beginning with mother. (5)                                              llama

I hope there’s someone driving this plane! Cor!  (5,5)                                  pilot whale

Why is it in the house? Don’t ask. (8)                                                                 elephant

Raced back from endless blowhard                                                               narwhal

Sounds like beard has been removed (10)                                                     chinchilla

*How confusing – the plane not a tree? No, it’s an animal  (8)                     elephant

He’s a great trumpeter but not in the band (8)                                             elephant

Half a horse before out of order inferno (7)                                                  giraffe

Sounds like a healthy critter (10)                                                                   hartebeest

Well-heeled web master swallows potassium and does a u-turn. (6,6).        Spider monkey

Criticise harshly, leave nothing back (8)                                                         pangolin

Sounds like an expensive tether (8)                                                               reindeer

Take over vets in outsize overalls (6)                                                             vervet

A good and bad read (6)                                                                                 badger

Terrier named after a character in Sir Walter Scott’s “Guy Mannering’ (6,7)  dandie dinmont

Spooner knocks a journalist entangling him legally. (8,5)                              humpback whale

Doubly agrees (3,3)                                                                                        aye-aye

Research facility requires quick sketch by artist (11)                                     labradoodle

 

 

Creepy-crawlies inc reptiles

Back in a mountain pass I leave a Scottish island (6)             locust

Doctors leave nothing for this bloodsucker (8)                      mosquito

Harriet embraces singlet (10)                                                 harvestman

Dismiss little nuisance (8)                                                       firebrat

She came out backwards before secret listener (3,3)            bed bug

“Captain, have you a sound fall-back position?” “Yes, sir!”    scarab

Spooner makes this sound almost œdipal! (11)                    caterpillar

Abstemious Gallic article surrounds ancient city (6)              turtle

This animal went wrong. Mine was very small (4)                 newt

Top beetle?  (9)                                                                       whirligig

***Circled circled circle circle. Snappy!  (9).                           crocodile

A Bruce inspiration catches lupu (4,6)                                   wolf spider

Crazy gal tailor-made (9)                                                        alligator

What old country flies were known as horse stingers (11)  dragonflies

Spooner announces it’s something he wears when cross-dressing (9)    whirligig