Puzzle 8/14/22 — Explained
The solution and explanation for this week's puzzle.
Here’s the solution to this week’s “Hidden Clues and Homophones” puzzle, with the parsing of each clue explained and the completed puzzle below. There’s a light theme to this puzzle, with a number of theme words relating to seeing, hearing, and hiding, as a nod to the clue types this puzzle is illustrating.
Definitions are italicized; “clue-type” indicators are shown in parentheses; and anagram indicators are additionally marked with an *.
Feel free to comment or reach out if you liked something, didn’t get something, or spotted an error!
Across
1. Coloring botched, we hear (4)
BLUE
Homophone (we hear) of “botched” [blew].
3. Secret discovered in aphid denticles (6)
HIDDEN
Hidden clue (discovered in) apHID DENticles.
8. Really good boyfriend found in pussycat choir (5)
CATCH
Hidden clue (found in) pussyCAT CHoir.
9. '90s boy band broadcast in lavatory (5)
NSYNC
Homophone (broadcast) of “in lavatory” [in sink].
10. Watch this guy on the radio (3)
EYE
Homophone (on the radio) of “this guy” [I].
11. Eyeball ground for an audience (5)
SIGHT
Homophone (for an audience) of “ground” [site]. N.B., “Eyeball” and “Sight” are both intended in their rarer verbal forms.
13. Schoolchildren all partaking of kidneys (5)
RENAL
Hidden clue: schoolchildREN ALl (partaking).
15. Some trek sadly around interrogator (5)
ASKER
Hidden clue (some) + reversal (around) tREK SAdly.
18. Jails hawks audibly (5)
CELLS
Homophone (audibly) of “hawks” [sells].
20. Cockney's arrived for organ (3)
EAR
Homophone (Cockney’s) — you could also read the indicator as including (for organ) — for “arrived” [’ere — as a Cockney would say, “here.”]
21. Drove, gathered, captured (5)
HEARD
Homophone (gathered) for “drove” [herd, as in “a drove of cattle.”].
22. Good place to gather most of a Rogan about-face (5)
AGORA
Hidden clue (most of) + reversal (about-face) A ROGAn.
23. Some "so und so" makes noises in English (6)
SOUNDS
Hidden clue (some) SO UND So. {One of the weaker clues, tbh, but it’s not a word that easily yields to either of the two clue types this puzzle is limited to.}
24. Sounds like crossword composer will vacation here, perhaps? (4)
ISLE
Homophone (sounds like) with a cryptic definition of [I’ll, as in “the crossword composer (that’s me) will.”].
Down
1. Strokes and flashbacks? L.A.'s hesitant to accept them. (15)
BACKSLASHES
Hidden clue: flashBACKS LAS HESitant (to accept them).
2. Remove friend from post in Mount Agassiz (5)
UNTAG
Hidden clue (in) moUNT AGassiz.
4. Karen nips back a bit to get beneath the surface (5)
INNER
Hidden clue (a bit) with reversal (back) kaREN NIps.
5. Some whiney oddball returned to be the most respected in his field (5)
DOYEN
Hidden clue (some) with reversal (returned) whiNEY ODdball.
6. Bringing out the Dead actor in Tesla's prison, by the sound of it (7,4)
NICOLAS CAGE
Homophone (by the sound of it) for “Tesla’s prison” [Nikola’s cage, referring to inventor Nikola Tesla. “Bringing out the Dead” is a 1999 Cage film directed by Martin Scorcese. I haven’t seen it, but it looks pretty good?].
7. Arouse desire for moist expression (4)
WHET
Homophone (expression) for “moist” [wet].
12. Partner to cry "Cut!" out loud (3)
HUE
Homophone (out loud) for “cut” [Hew. “Hue” is a “partner to cry” in the phrase “hue and cry”].
14. From my point of view, crossword solver's a sheep, so to speak (3)
YOU
Homophone (so to speak) for “sheep” [ewe].
16. Who becomes Bill's best friend? Take a number inside. (5)
KEANU
Hidden clue: taKE A NUmber (inside). {Keanu Reeves is, of course, Bill’s best friend Ted in the Bill and Ted movies.}
17. Somewhat scared I'd done it again (5)
REDID
Hidden clue (somewhat) scaRED ID.
18. Lycra bra filled with sea life (4)
CRAB
Hidden clue: lyCRA Bra (filled with). {I initially had the definition clued as “sea food,” but I wanted to give my crab some autonomy.}
19. Mugs put back in kiosk: Oolong! (5)
LOOKS
Hidden clue (in) with reversal (put back) kioSK OOLong. {Mugs, as in “mugs for the camera.”}
