The background for this puzzle is a Graham Fox photograph showing some colourful flowers, possibly lupins.
This grid by Max Jackson celebrates the 70th anniversary of a cultural institution. There are ten undefined thematic entries, divided into a quartet and a sextet. Three of the quartet portrayed the members of the sextet. Solvers are asked to indicate the remaining member of the quartet.
If you’re not a committed fan then Google and Wikipedia may be your friends in checking some of the thematic entries (but note that in at least one case there seems to be dispute about the spelling of a first name).
Tramp’s clues are appropriately playful and amusing, without being quite as anarchic as the theme itself. Go on, try them: raspberries will be blown and no-one will be deaded.
Drawing by Frank Paul
Delighted, at last, to have deciphered one of FP’s enigmatic drawings. A bent letter of the alphabet (lower case as illustrated) followed by the abbreviated compass reading given. (7 letters) [GS]
Day 2
* Mount 1aw (7)
A name for a mountain in part of the UK followed by another word for the answer to 1aw gives you one of the thematic four. [JP]
Day 7
Criminal caught with piece (5)
Nice piece of misdirection here. The solution is indeed a criminal as in abbreviation of caught used in cricket scores followed by a piece found on a game board. [GS]
Day 14
Call up first woman to provide cover for magazine (5)
Here, first woman in the Biblical sense to go round (cover) a magazine title. The whole thing suggests to conjure up. Non UK resident solvers may need to brush up on their two letter magazine titles. [GS]
Day 16
Continue to expose theme (4,4)
There is no synonym for “continue” as the solution stands (4,4) but if the first word is split in two (2,2) this magically creates a phrasal verb (verb + preposition) which is! [GS]
Day 20
On part of hip, is Ali hurt boxing champion? (7)
A lovely surface to this clue disguises what’s going on. Hurt is an anagram indicator and boxing suggests containment, so we put an abbreviation for champion inside our anagram. The solution is an adjectival form of an unfamiliar anatomical term. [N&SI]
Day 21
Nice day with Romeo, ecstasy is brief with you coming first (4)
Abbreviation for Romeo preceded by another word for ecstasy shortened followed by what sounds like "you" to give you a ‘Nice’ day! [JP]
Day 22
Put old camera’s top half the wrong way in palms (7)
The wrong way suggests a reversal. We need a short word for put (in the less usual sense of assert) and an abbreviation for old. This is a down clue, so camera’s top half is the first half of camera. Put it all together and then reverse to get some South American palm trees. [N&SI]
Day 25
Birthmarks? Tramp’s one for review (5)
Another reversal here, indicated by review. Look for an abbreviation corresponding to Tramp’s in the possessive sense replacing Tramp with a personal pronoun. Follow with a short word for one and turn the whole lot round. The solution is the formal anatomical term for birthmarks. [N&SI]
Day 33
* “I’m ill” speaking crazily (5,8)
Clever anagram pertaining to grave words gives you one of the thematic four. [JP]
Day 36
One making stroke swings on this from tee, with flag covering golf target (5-3)
The parts of the clue come from golf. Think of tee initially followed by another word for the golf flag covering (around) where you aim to get the ball to give you the answer. This refers to the equipment that ‘one making stroke’ swings from in a different sport. [JP]
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We are grateful to the other members of the Hints & Tips team: Garry Stripling (Gin) and Jim Pennington (Philostrate), and Alison Ramage & Andre Sonnet (Aramis)
