A fun puzzle that manages to get Buzz Aldrin, Marilyn Munroe and Calvin Klein tittupping together, so to speak, with a Pearly and a bottle of port. It’s not often one gets to write sentences like that. I really enjoyed this one of about average difficulty I would guess.
Across | |
---|---|
1 | PPARC – PP(AR)C; picture postcard=PPC; Arabic=AR; Particle Physics & Astronomy Research Council that funded research. Merged into the Science & Technology Facilities Council in 2007; |
5 | SAPHEAD – SA-PH(EA)D; south=S; Australian=A; doctor=PHD; running water=EA; |
11 | COUSINAGE – CO-USIN(g)-AGE; small company=CO; |
12 | TITTUPPED – TIT-TUP-P(a)ED; nag=TIT; ram=TUP; little=paed then “one walking” gives PED; no, not failed miserably but danced gaily – wonderful imagery that would have appealed to Frankie Howard; |
13 | ALEW – ALE-W; archaic festival=ALE; week=W; |
14 | ULVA – hidden (woderf)UL VA(rieties); the sea lettuce (also an island close to Mull); |
15 | MOONSHEES – MOON-SHEES(ha); gaze vacantly=MOON; tobacco=sheesha without “ha”=sign of scepticism; interpreter; |
16 | ORPIN – OR-PIN; thing of little value=PIN; the stonecrop flower; |
17 | RETREAT – RET-RE(A)T; soak=RET; before=A; |
21 | CATASTA – card game=canasta then substitute “t”=time for “n”=bit of Napoleon; originally a stage used by the Romans to display and sell slaves; |
23 | PILEA – PILE-A; down (carpet)=PILE; answer=A; the top of a bird’s head; |
24 | KNICKERED – “as plump” becomes “is plump” by switching “a” for “i” so tired=knackered then swap “a” for “i”; bloomered=wearing grandma’s knickers (can’t imagine what my grandma would have made of CK knickers for example); |
28 | IOTA – hidden (cypr)IOT A(rgonaut); not clear what the containment indicator is; |
29 | ACAI – A-C-AI; slice of carp=C; edible fish=AI; Brazilian palm and its fruit; |
30 | VAPORETTO – VAPOR-(OTT-E all reversed); US boast=VAPOR; Ventian waterbus used to visit nearby islands; |
31 | IMMUTABLE – (I mumble at)*; bucks is anagrind; |
32 | TASLETS – (t=the in the north + slates)*; |
33 | YARRS – Y(A-R)RS; are=A; right=R; yours=YRS; dialect (in places) for the corn spurrey; |
Down | |
1 | PUT,A,SOCK,IN,IT – P-(situation + CK=Calvin Klein commonly)*; |
2 | PHILTRA – PHILTR(e)-A; adult=A; the vertical hollow beteeen the nose and the upper lip; |
3 | ATTEMPT – A-T,TEMP-T; stammering secretary=T,TEMP; time=T; |
4 | COUPON – COUP-O-N; jock’s upset=COUP; over=O; new=N; |
5 | SUPPORT – SUP-PORT; Grahams=brand of port (along with Cockburn’s, Croft’s, Taylor’s and Sandeman’s); more CK underwear; |
6 | ASPEN – AS-PEN; the trembling poplar and thus by extension timid; |
7 | PIERST – PIER-ST; Spensarian wharf=PIER; Spencerian for pierced; |
8 | EAGLE – EA-GLE(e); each=EA; glitter=glee; refernce Colonel Buzz Aldrin, second man on the moon, and US military uniform; |
9 | AGAVE – AGA-VE; AGA=make of stove; have=’VE; a plant whose nectar is used as a sweetner; |
10 | DEVASTATIONS – DEVA-STATIONS; good spirit=DEVA; stops=STATIONS; |
18 | EARBOBS – EAR(BOB)S; |
19 | ELECTOR – (CELE(b) reversed)-(ROT reversed); |
20 | AERATOR – (area)*-TOR; |
22 | SKLATE – SK(L)ATE; large=L; bluish-grey slate coloured in Sutherland; |
23 | PEARLY – PEAR-L(ook)-Y(ummy); reference London’s Pearly Kings and Queens; |
25 | NORMA – two meanings 1=Marilyn Munroe’s real name was Norma Jean Mortenson/Baker. As a youngster she was allegedly dubbed Norma Jean the human bean; 2=small group of stars; |
26 | ITEMS – IT-E-MS; sex appeal=IT (from the original It Girl, Clara Bow in the 1927 film It) ; |
27 | EXPAT – TA(P)X-E(xile) reversed; peseta=P; |
24 Got this by having fat going to fit, so knackered to KNICKERED.
28 Is the containment indicator the apostrophe s (has)?
Had another go today and managed roughly the same time. Mustn’t make it a habit, though; ought not to neglect the garden.
I got the PED in TITTUPPED from ‘ped’ as the abbreviation (‘little’ form) of ‘one walking’. ‘Paed’ I know as a prefix, but not as a word (or abbreviation) in its own right.
Thanks to Jim for the blog – and keep indicating the degree of difficulty!