Word Puzzle 116

Word Puzzle 116 – Solution with Explanation

Theme: New Year (hidden)

Clues:

1. Wave motion (6)

Beckon, DD.

2. Dismiss prompts in a fit (9)

Fireworks, fire (dismiss), works (prompts), fit (def)

3. Most determined, #1 returning the call (10)

Resolution, most (delete last letter in) resolute (determined), NoI (#1), returning (reversal),

call (def)

4. In part of Texas history, 1835 stands out, with Alamo defended by Sam Houston’s ragtag

    army (1,2,4)

A la mode, in (def), part (hidden), rest is fodder.

5. Ornate color (6)

Purple, DD.

6. How to say ready on Jan 1? (3,5,3)

New year’s day, how to (meta, say ready (target), Jan 1 (def), one way to get the target is via,

Anagram (new) of “years day”

7. Relinquish = applying two mutually cancelling operations in cryptic or applying one of them

    on a palindrome (4,4)

Turn over, relinquish (def), two reversal operations (turn + over), will leave the fodder,

    unchanged, similarly applying reversal on palindrome gives the same.

8. Storyteller artist’s outline edited by replacing circle with point (9)

Raconteur, storyteller (def), RA (artist), contour (outline), replace “o” with “e” in contour.

9. Cancel the peculiar bullpen with ice (4-6)

Blue-pencil, cancel (def), peculiar (anagram of) bullpen + ice.

10. Prohibit some folks from voting for Biden in the upcoming presidential election (6)

   Forbid, prohibit (def), some (hidden), rest is fodder.

11. Lipstick design (6)

   Makeup, DD.

12. Dance with abandon, a NYE feature? (4,4)

   Ball drop, ball (dance), with (juxtaposition), drop (abandon), NYE feature (def)

13. Passenger’s on the ship waiting for port entry, exhibiting wonder (7)

   Portent, exhibiting (hidden), wonder (def), rest is fodder.

14. How to be hot and intense by being dolled up? (7,2,3,5)

   Dressed to the nines, how to (meta), hot + intense (target), dolled up (def), one way to get,

  the target is via anagram (dressed) of “to the nines.”

15. Stew for wild witch (7)

   Rummage, stew (def), rum (wild), mage (witch)

16. Indecision about enticing fest? (5-7)

   Fence-sitting, indecision (def), about (anagram of) “enticing fest.”

17. Suspicion about at home schooling (9)

   Intuition, suspicion (def), in (at home), tuition (schooling)

18. For Schengen visa, get forms ready, along with id proof clearly displaying picture (8)

   Envisage, displaying (hidden), picture (def), rest is fodder.

19. Tally up, say numbers in reverse (9)

   Countdown, count (tally), up (down, huh? Yes, up is both the synonym and antonym of

    down), rest is def.

20. Go down straight, according to hearsay, it connects Tasman sea with the south Pacific ocean

  (4,6)

   Cook strait, cook (go down), according to hearsay (homophone of) straight is strait,

   rest is def.

21. Do gets me tensed (4,4,4)

   Make ends meet, do (def), gets (meta), me tensed (target), one way to get the target is via,

    Anagram (make) of “ends meet”.