NTSPP – 204

NTSPP – 204

A Puzzle by Hieroglyph

– + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

The puzzle is available by clicking on the above grid.

A review of this puzzle by crypticsue follows.

Thanks to Hieroglyph for providing a great crossword for  the first NTSPP of 2014.   It  has some appropriately themed clues which aren’t hard to spot.

 

Across

1a           Poet to drain noodle soup (6)
{SAPPHO}  A Greek poetess – a verb meaning to drain the energy from,  followed by a Vietnamese noodle soup.

4a           Good to get up for game (6)
{GROUSE}  The abbreviation for good and a verb meaning to get up.

9a           See 12

10a         Creep biting head off bird (4)
{INCH}    To move by slow degrees (creep) – remove the first letter (biting the head off) of  a small perching bird.

11a         See 6 Down

12/9a    Erroneously, it’s a commitment made of late? (3,5,10)
{NEW YEARS RESOLUTION}  An adjective meaning recently made (of late) followed by an anagram of ERRONEOUSLY IT’S A.     Mine is to spot Ninas in crosswords, what’s yours?

13a         The result of frost and wind blowing? (9)
{SNOWDRIFT}   An anagram (blowing) of FROST and WIND.

15a         Posh, but for Cicero, second-hand? (4)
{USED}   The single letter used to mean posh, upper class, followed by the Latin wordmeaning ‘but’  (Cicero being  the great Roman orator, philosopher and statesman)

16a         Curse head of orderlies at hospital (4)
{OATH}    The ‘head’ of Orderlies, followed by AT (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Hospital.

17a         Fast-moving hare – he’s out of the heather (9)
{SCUTTLING}   A hare (I thought this word just related to its tail!),  the T of THE (he’s removed) and another word for heather.

21a         Put away second-last drink (4,4)
{SEND DOWN}   The abbreviation for second, a synonym for last and a verb meaning to drink

22a         Release externalities stripped from fund that ends (6)
{UNHAND}   Remove the outside letters (externalities stripped) from fUNd, tHAt eNDs.

24a         Prima donna‘s flipping greedy (4)
{DIVA}   A reversal of an adjective meaning greedy.

25a         Poorly used mother and child settled on leaving party behind (10)
{MALADAPTED}   An informal way of referring to your mother, a boy (child) and a verb meaning settled, from which the two letter informal word for a party has been removed (leaving party behind).

26a         Greek character in European Union church is one no longer tackled (6)
{EUNUCH}   A cryptic definition of someone without his genitalia (informally known as wedding tackle!)  –  place the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet between the abbreviations for European Union and church.

27a         Writer‘s against eating fish (6)
{CRAYON}  A type of fish is inserted into, or eaten by,  an abbreviation meaning against.

Down

1d           Where’s ______? In the bottle-shop? (7)
{SHEBEEN}   Split an illicit bottle-shop 2, 4 and you get the missing bit of the question in the first part of the clue.

2d           Last two entries in Telegraph: one’s beginning to snap! (5)
{PHOTO}    The last two letters (entries) of telegraPH, the ‘beginning’ of One’s and TO (from the clue).

3d           Arrogance of Hollywood’s premier film-maker (7)
{HAUTEUR}   The first letter (premier) of Hollywood and a creator of films in a specific genre.

5d           Note number with national fame? (6)
{RENOWN}  The second note of the tonic sol-fa scale, followed by the abbreviations for number, with and national.

6/11       2014? That changes everything! (9,6)
{UNIVERSAL REMOTE}    Split the number 2014 into 20 and 14.   The solution to 20d means relating to the world as an orderly whole – as does the solution to 6d.  The solution to 14d means far removed as does the solution to 11a.

7d           Once again performed with heart in the finale? (7)
{ENCORED}  Insert the heart or middle of something into a word meaning finale.

8d           “Some resign if I can’t!” (Lysander, notably) (13)
{SIGNIFICANTLY}  Cleverly hidden in some of reSIGN IF I CANT LYsander.

14d         Retired in the company of lottery winners, essentially (9)
{WITHDRAWN}  A preposition meaning in the company of, what a lottery is and the middle letter (essentially) of winners.

16d         It’s no longer the case (3,4)
{ONE TIME}  The number represented by I and the word for which T is an abbreviation.

18d         Scream at an albatross, of course, excreting on sweetheart (7)
{THUNDER}  Take the golf score that is known as an albatross (of ‘course’)  and remove (excreting) the two letters used to mean on [the subject of] and the middle letter (heart) of sweet.

19d         Bread like mustard – yellowy-brown? (7)
{NANKEEN}  A buff-coloured (yellowy-brown) cloth.   A type of Indian bread followed by the adjective meaning intense  linked to mustard in the informal expression meaning enthusiastic.

20d         Large orderly stand-up admitting crimes at last (6)
{COSMIC}  A stand-up comedian with the final letter (at last) of crimes inserted.

23d         Beginning to huff and puff – perhaps you’re slightly drunk? (5)
{HAPPY}  The beginnings of Huff And Puff Perhaps You’re.