Clues and Grid by Soup
Enter the prize draw by 30 April.
The background for this puzzle is a Daniel Kirsch photo of the rusted pedal and chain guard of a bicycle.
This puzzle by Soup uses a conventional 7x5x5 grid by Calluna and celebrates the 251st birthday of a person whose surname should be literally applied to four solutions before entry in the grid. Clues are numbered in alphabetical order of their solutions.
The surname of the thematic person is an agent noun, consisting of a verb followed by a 2-letter suffix. On four days (one very early and three right at the end), this suffix appears in the interior of the solution to the clue, and the verb must be applied to these two letters to produce a different word to be entered in the grid. It is this transformed word that should be submitted in the entry form. The 2-letter suffix also appears at the end of the solution to Day 21, but does not get transformed in this case.
This is an elegant composition by Soup to celebrate an innovative genius. If you find it difficult to discern the details among the stormy clouds or the rain, steam and speed, then take a step back and the picture should become clear.
Day 4
On outskirts of Dieppe (France), spends and reduces danger (7)
Starting with de (outskirts of Dieppe) and adding f (for France) and finishing with spends in the sense of consuming time . Result: reduces danger. [GS]
Day 5
Gently moved support for artist left out by daughter (5)
The obvious support for an artist. Remove the last letter and replace with d for daughter. Result: means gently moved. [GS]
Day 6
Soup recalled ‘Fighting Temeraire’ somewhere by the Red Sea (7)
Nice use of perhaps the most famous thematic work. ‘Fighting’ suggests an anagram, but Temeraire has too many letters. First you need to remove a pronoun for Soup referring to himself. The answer is a country on the Red Sea. [NI]
Day 9
Chap seen on the first of five consecutive months (5)
Planning to look for and find the Golden Fleece? Don’t start out before the end of June. [GS]
Day 11
Can suppressing fun produce dignity? (7)
Synonym of can in the sense of permission given (3 letters) to include (indicator – suppression) the verb from the man who entertained Kings and Queens in Medieval times. [GS]
Day 14
As a posh chap might be heard to address his wife, who had a vision (5)
‘Might be heard’ suggests a homophone, and the answer is a classical figure who appears in a thematic work ‘Vision of [her name]’. A perfect example of how the posh chap might say these words appears at the end of the first line of the chorus in a Flanders & Swann song about fortified wine from a Portuguese island in the Atlantic ocean, off the north-west coast of Africa. [NI]
Day 16
Unfortunately, has a net loss from ‘Thames at Eton’ composition (5)
Thematic referral is a clever diversion! You need to take away ‘has a net’ from ‘Thames at Eton’ to give you a different type of composition. [JP]
Day 17
Without hesitation, the V&A and the Horniman show art and poetry (5)
Think of what the V&A and Horniman are and take away a short word for hesitation to give you sources of inspiration for art and poetry. [JP]
Day 25
Tears rhubarb (5)
Forget the image of ripping up the stalks to make crumble. A thin watery discharge produced by the conjunctiva is also a name for rhubarb. [JP]
Day 26
Classical gardeners getting 50% off fairground entertainments (5)
Not horticulturalists getting cheap thrills, but think of classical gardeners in a mythological sense (those who guarded the golden apples). Take away half of the letters to leave you with fairground entertainments. [JP]
I am grateful to the other members of the Hints & Tips team: Garry Stripling (Gin) and Jim Pennington (Philostrate).
Happy solving!
Nick Inglis (etc)
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