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JUMENTOUS - smelling like horse urine [From Old French jument, originally Latin iumentum - beast of burden; pack animal] Home-brewers can admit to the odd jumentous potion in their quest for a craft elixir.
EPIKEIA [air-PICK-aya-ah] - a principle in ethics stating that a law can be broken in order toacheive a greater good. [From Greek, epieíkeia, reasonableness.] Civil disobedience can often enshrine epikeia.
TEXTROVERT - one who feels more comfortable in communicating via SMS than face-to-face [Neologism - based on extrovert, (variant of extra-, more) + -vertere to turn] The modern Cyrano de Bergerac, a maestro of the written word, is likely the textrovert.
Owing to the Iso Age, I've been doing a bit more clue-wrangling, gobbling grids in ill-advised numbers. Hence the surge in Huh posts over the the last month or so.
Most of these bafflers hail from an old Times collection, unless otherwise stated. Their logic hovers just within my grasp, needing your nudge be fully grabbed.
I'd appreciate any insights you can add. For the more spirited buffs, see what alternative clues you can devise for the same answers.
1. Bloomers made here in Coventry = OVEN [Clearly a hidden recipe, but bloomers?]
2. Film director with a good score when shooting = WINNER [Times 11769 - since when is a director a winner?]
3. Pale nut found under tree = ASHEN [Sunday Times 1198 - en as nut?]
4. Serious art making money? = EARNEST [Same puzzle - different quandary]
5. One being short of training is a firing offence = ARSON [Ditto]
6. Dope runs across grass becoming increasingly active = SPRYER [Times 11776 - SP as dope?]
7. Diamond-shaped tablet is a success = ACHIEVEMENT [The what?]
8. Location for play people without exception remember = RECALL [Times 11799]
9. Picture latter half of a trip to Santiago? = IMAGE [Same puzzle, and I remain at sea]
DROGULUS - something that exists, and yet its existence is unverifiable owing to its intangibility; plural - droguli [Coined by British philosopher AJ Ayer, in association with dracunculus - dragon in Latin.] Faith is an evident drogulus for its want of hard evidence.
RIBAZUBA - walrus ivory [From Russian words fish + tooth] Scrimshaw pieces in ivory are likely to be works of ribazuba.
FINNESKOE - a soft-hide boot designed for winter travel. Traditionally, reindeer hide is used, insulated with grass for water absorption. [From Norwegian - Finn (Lapp) + skoe, or shoe.] The finneskoe is superior to hard leather as the boot can survive subzero temperatures overnight.
Covidiot. Quarantini. Ronavations. Isoholic.
COVID-19 is fast creating its own glossary, and thanks to SK - decorated cluesmith both here and in The Big Issue - the virus can brag its own cryptic crossword. Perfect diversion while passing your lockdown hours.
Hard to single out my favourite clues, but 5ac, 7dn and 23dn would be jostling on the podium. As would most SK samples. You're in for a treat.
In fact, please subscribe to the Big Issue on the same link, as sales have dipped since our streets have emptied. Make a small difference for those who need a hand, with a fine crossword your karmic reward.
Feel free to share your feedback and oblique hints in the Comments below.
ZABERNISM - abuse of military power; unwarranted aggression from an officebearer. [From Zabern, the German name for Saverne, where a subatlern executed a cobbler for smiling in 1912.] As executive powers shift during COVID times, citizens must be watchful of a zabernism rise.
ANANYM - a word or alias derived from reversal, such as Harpo - Oprah's media company - or mho, a reciprocal ohm [From Greek, ana - backwards, plus nym - name] British crossword setter, Jonathan Crowther, derived his Azed alias from the Spanish inquisitor, Frey Diego de Deza.
KIRIGAMI - a style of origami where paper-cutting is allowed. [From Japanese - kiri (cut) and gami (paper)] Rather than creasing, the school of kirigami is sharply increasing.
MARCESCENT [mah-SESS-unt] - withering without shedding [From Latin marcere - to wither] Autumn leaves are often marcescent for weeks, shrivelling without dropping off their branch.
In these strange days of self-exile, I thought I might pigeon-post some more baffling clues from UK puzzles past. Below I present ten mind-bogglers, where I can grasp elements of each, but never the entities.
In contemplative self-isolation, can you fathom how these clues operate? And for extra sport, can you devise a clue for any of these same solutions?
1. Borrow, say, from one who may have some cheques = TRAVELLER [I know about George Borrow, but can't cotton onto Part II]
2. Hog a lot of time available for business = PIGEON [The charade is clear but not the secondary element]
3. Temporary relief from wild plant? Not always = ESCAPE
4. It enables one to get the message - after reflection, naturally = HELIOTROPE
5. Support for growing girl’s need = CAKE STAND [I hate to think...Is there more to this?]
6. Shaking violently following wild creature – no end of quest = ROCKING
7. Many an Anglo-Saxon runner needing a drink = MANHATTAN [Get the drink, just not the chaser]
8. Justice of the Peace? = BENEFIT
9. He came to a dreadful end, in agony = BAKER
10. Shortly about to run off without paying for this orange = NAVEL
GYGES EFFECT [guy-JEEZ] - phenomenon whereby internet users become far less inhibited owing to the web's invisibility [Named after Greek shepherd Gyges whose magic ring enabled him to vanish at will.] Using zombie accounts or phony names, many trolls are emboldened by the Gyges effect.
BIARRITZ - [golfing slang] any green divided by a deep groove or swale [Named after a notorious example at Le Phare Golf Club in Biarritz, France.] The secret to mastering a biarritz is ball placement, removing the groove's treachery from the equation.
MAJOLICA [mah-JOLL-uh-ka] - decorated tile, coated in enamel or tin glaze, originally imported into Italy from Majorca [From 16C Italian for Majorca] A frieze of majolica tiles is sure to enliven any corridor.
CASSPIR - armoured troop-carrier used in South Africa, capable of resisting attack and landmines. [Anagram of initial clients, South African Police and designers CSIR: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research] First produced in 1980, during the apartheid era, the casspir weighs some 10 tonnes and can carry some 14 passengers.
EIGENGRAU (EYE-gairn-GRAU) - dark light; uniform grey that people report seeing in the absence of light; also called BRAIN GREY. [From German 'own grey'] Genuine blackness is often compensated by the viewer, the brain relaying the 'visual noise' of the lighted world into the void.
Been a while since a Huuh post - as there ten bewildering clues suggest - or at least these clues threw a spanner in my ointment.
All of them hail from the Times, including some historic collections that lack an identifying number. If you can shed any light on these eel-like creations I'd be very grateful.
And feel free, if the muse stirs, to devise your own clues for any of the listed answers. Maybe I'll be able to fathom those! Thanks in advance.
1. Pink belt = KNOCK
2. Leaf disease initially increasing in volume? = FOLIO [Times 11,710]
3. Fighter plane operator repeatedly an associate of thieves = ALI BABA [same puzzle!]
4. Seven-stone pauper? = BEGGARMAN
5. Weight up and down a little bit with fashion = DROP HAMMER
6. Widow, for example, can set tongues wagging = IN VINO VERITAS
7. One has matter in hand? Shilling on tax = ABSCESS [Times 11,630]
8. Prudence given help in training = FORESIGHT
9. Fight round roadblock, initially = SET-TO
10. Made the grade as a priest in ceremony? = COPED
FARDAGE - wooden platform - or absorbent material - placed along a ship's hold in order to keep cargo dry; also DUNNAGE. [Origin unknown] The universal pallet is the contemporary fardage.
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