May 26 2011
Losing It
When was the last time you lost it? A burst of road rage? The checkout line? When some guy in Bangalore tells you to reboot the modem? Or maybe the last corner of a crossword, like me yesterday, facing a clunky clue:
Way down South, author’s lost it after chapter’s written (5)
The answer is CHUTE, which I eventually guessed, but not before a stint of teeth gnashing. The moment I realised that Nevil Shute of all people was the author in question, I was home. Take away his S (for South) and hang the combo off C (for chapter), and there’s your way down. But the phrase that stuck in my head, due to my worsening mood, was ‘lost it’. A nice deletion phrase, I realised. And the basis of these clues below.
Can you solve all six, where the first word loses IT to spell the second – without losing it? EX: Key-tickling Tom/existed = WAITS/WAS
1 Tiny/musical Murray
2 C&W Bonnie/turncoat
3 Sexual/fuel
4 Exactly/Spanish cheese
5 Non-priests/non-expert
6 Swelling/blood
Think of anymore? Don’t lose it, share it!
Comments
DC — 26 May at 11:07AM
3. c
5. l
7. Worship/illness
SK — 26 May at 11:24AM
8. Diplomatic staff?
dg — 26 May at 12:14PM
1 p
2 r
8 polite
9 Straightforward/ detail
10 Attack / exist
11 Toss / marble
12 One of our secondary sources / Muslim commentator
13 Asher Keddie / article
RK — 26 May at 01:05PM
4. q
10. bite/be
13. Ita/a
SK — 26 May at 01:42PM
14. Mushroom smoothie (yuk!)
15. Escort girl
RK — 26 May at 01:47PM
14. Shitake shake - sounds vile
DA — 26 May at 02:20PM
7 Liturgy/lurgy - good one
SK — 26 May at 05:01PM
16. Parking scam
17. Saved Rudd?
DA — 26 May at 05:14PM
For 17, I keep wanting to try COAL I ON COALITION....
18 Force/sauce
SK — 26 May at 05:26PM
For 17, saved could be banked, followed by what happened to poor old Kev.
19. The object of ego
20. What happens if you drop your phone on your foot?
Boniface — 26 May at 05:28PM
1 L
5 G
8 Foreign airline - speech defect
9 Allow hairstyle (ok, that's GP)
10 Wary of donations?
11 Radical former jailbird
RK — 26 May at 05:29PM
17. Deposited/deposed
RK — 26 May at 05:39PM
6. g
18. gravity/gravy
Boniface — 26 May at 05:40PM
Sorry all - delayed post. Here's my updated numbering:
21 Foreign airline - speech defect
22 Allow hairstyle (ok, that's GP)
23 Wary of donations?
24 Radical former jailbird
RK — 26 May at 05:41PM
16. sitting/sting
19. itself/self (I think)
SK — 26 May at 05:52PM
RK, yes for 16, 17, 19.
22 permit
DA — 26 May at 05:52PM
21 Alitalia alalia (You'd have to be a Scrabble player, Boniface!)
22 Permit perm
23 Charity chary
24 ..?
RK — 26 May at 06:02PM
25. Forget mantra
26. Brothers think he's top guy
SK — 27 May at 07:03AM
27. Girl (film)/ girl (song)
DC — 27 May at 08:11AM
My first thought it to wonder if Nika is a song, since I'm a fan of Nikita (in most of its strange variations).
But I suspect Lolita is a better guess.
SK — 27 May at 08:14AM
Correct weight DC. Though technically speaking, I should have had "boy/song".
DA — 27 May at 10:20AM
25. Omit om (sneaky)
26. The Flying Burrito/the flying burro?
As a side note, did you realise the burrito is so called as the snack mimics a donkey's appendage - ie a small burro? Not a discovery I can readily share on early evening telly.
Another blue derivation is sycophant -
RK — 27 May at 10:24AM
At first I thought you were so off the mark with 26, DA, but then I seem to recall that my second word has been spotted on a burrito.
DA — 27 May at 10:41AM
Great nudge:
Jesuits/Jesus!
SK — 27 May at 11:00AM
Just mopping up...any takers on 15 (Escort girl) or 20 (what happens when you drop your mobile on your foot...hint- it's a top shelf mobile)?
DC — 27 May at 11:25AM
A sitter / Aster
or not.
DC — 27 May at 11:28AM
27. Pennywise the Clown leaves you like this
SK — 27 May at 12:24PM
@DC Nup. Suite/Sue.
And the dropped phone was i-touch/ouch
DA — 27 May at 12:36PM
Escort girl = SUITE SUE...that's an obtuse clue, SK, even by my liberal standards. The working girl warrants a question mark at least, I reckon.
i-Touch ouch: brilliant
Boniface — 27 May at 01:12PM
My 24 was exciton ex-con.
SK — 27 May at 02:17PM
Fair enough DA. In my defence the online dictionary lists "escort, entourage" among the list of alternative definitions for "suite", but I agree that it is pretty obscure.
DC — 27 May at 02:55PM
Speaking of obscure, my answer to 27 was
IT /
(from the Stephen King novel)
dg — 28 May at 01:00AM
Just quickly mine were
SPOILERS...
9 Straightforward/ detail DEFINITE
10 Attack / exist BITE
11 Toss / marble AGITATE
12 One of our secondary sources / Muslim commentator ITALY/(Waleed) ALY
13 Asher Keddie / article ITA