Guardian Cryptic #26288

2014-06-17

Solve on Guardian →

Across

1a

Doctors' bills cause such outcry! (6)

flowerflowerflower
5a

"An Englishman in New York" from Elton? Nonsense! (4,4)

flowerflowerflower
9a

Captive hugging frisky sheep? It's erotic to some(8)

flowerflowerflower
10a

perhaps, holding nothing is gloomy (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

I was all set to chunter [again] about meaningless ellipses but these dots are not an ellipsis – they’re MORSE code, into which we have to put O [nothing]: I can’t see any significance in them standing for S S  but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any.

11a

Incredibly, an old age actor finally ran for president (6,6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

An anagram [incredibly] of AN OLD AGE [acto]R RAN – dare we call this &lit? Hilarious, anyway.

13a

Jumper for playing golf (4)

flowerflowerflower
14a

Back in goal with utter ease, bearing number (8)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

REversal [back] of IN + NET [goal] + EE [sounds like – ‘utter’ – ‘ease’] + N [bearing] – can’t get away from the football

17a

Canine, beginning to eat, still has nothing to go with hot stew (3,5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

E[at] + YET [still] + O [nothing] + an anagram [stew] of HOT

18a

Superheroes, followers of Ximenes' lead? (1-3)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

X[imenes] MEN

20a

Those in society on form (7,5)

flowerflowerflower
23a

Bad idea to restrain navy against attack (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

An anagram [bad] of IDEA round N [navy] V [against]

24a

Scott's companion, devouring lots of dessert and biscuits (8)

flowerflowerflower
25a

When special army group is retired with new killer? (8)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

AS [when] + SAS [special army group] + reversal [retired] of IS + N [new]

26a

Sings flowing melody on Sunday without mass (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Anagram [flowing] of [m]ELODY [without mass] + S [Sunday]

Down

2d

One addicted to American TV series (4)

flowerflowerflower
3d

Officer doubly correct to provide protection (9)

flowerflowerflower
4d

Monster's swaying hips gets knight cross (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Anagram [swayng] of HIPS + N [knight – chess notation] + X [cross] – what a lovely picture!

5d

India's Koh-i-noor? (5,2,3,5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

I must be missing something here but I can’t see anything at all cryptic: the Koh-i-noor comes from India and is a jewel in the Queen’s crown: for me, it would be more cryptic if the clue were the other way round. Edit: see muffin @4 and Herb @6

6d

US strikes hard: Republican peacekeepers are in some trouble (4,4)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

H [hard] + R [republican] + UN [peacekeepers] in an anagram [trouble] of SOME [I was helped by having seen HOME RUN in Orlando’s Quiptic yesterday.]

7d

Back massage with spirit to cover the whole body (5)

flowerflowerflower
8d

Slave's uprising about iron regularly fears tropical disease (5,5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

I’m in trouble again: I thought this was an anagram [uprising] of SLAVES round  FE [iron] + fEaRs but I’m an ‘a’ short and an ‘e’ too many! Edit: see Gaufrid @3

12d

Short of time, they run about in stadia (10)

flowerflowerflower
15d

In the US, rank and dutyit's an order by duke (4,5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

TAX [duty] + an anagram [order] of ITS AN + D [duke] – I thought that ‘rank’ was used over here as well?

16d

Doormen supply deliveries (8)

flowerflowerflower
19d

Very much against the pointless subject of "rickrolling" (6)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

This looked impossible at first sight, as I’d never heard of “rickrolling” but Wikipedia came to the rescue: “Rickrolling is an Internet meme involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. The meme is a bait and switch; a person provides a hyperlink which is seemingly relevant to the topic at hand, but actually leads to Astley’s video.” and I eventually found this So it’s V [against] + ASTL[e]Y [without E – point]

21d

Bear a left, then a right, then reverse (5)

Generating...

I haven't cracked this one yet — but Fifteensquared have:

Reversal of A L [a left] + A OK [a right] I know someone’s going to say it isn’t a bear, but both Collins and Chambers give ‘koala bear’ as an alternative. [And I know that doesn’t make it right but it lets Qaos off.]

22d

In Belize, a lover showing passion (4)

flowerflowerflower