Word Puzzle 140

Word Puzzle 140 – Solution with Explanation 

Theme: None 

Clues: 

1. Give money (6) 

  Tender, DD, 

2. Panic inside nuclear plant due to equipment error (6) 

  Terror, panic (def), inside (hidden), rest is fodder. 

3. Predicament for a heartless pathologist? (6) 

  Corner, predicament (def), heartless (remove middle letter in), coroner (pathologist) 

4. Get a threat from Batman villain? (3, 6) 

   Mad hatter, get (meta), threat (target), rest is def, one way to get the target is via, 

   anagram (mad) of “hatter” 

5. Find fault with the cast of odd anchorwomen (4,4,4,2) 

  Come down hard on, find fault with (def), cast of (anagram of), “odd anchorwomen” 

6. How to dodge nervous Ernesto by returning the favor? (3,4,4,8,7) 

  One good turn deserves another, how to (meta), “dodge nervous Ernesto” (target), one way 

   to get the target is via, “one good turn deserves” anagram (another) 

7. Composition of new reform at government schools faces severe backlash (6) 

  Format, composition (def), of (hidden) rest is fodder. 

8. Intricate network (7) 

  Complex, DD 

9. Sloshed cop stumbled into the charmed circle (6,4) 

  Closed shop, stumbled (anagram of) sloshed cop, charmed circle (def) 

10. Fools looting the syndicate (10) 

    Conspiracy, cons (fools), piracy (looting), syndicate (def) 

11. Eat a songbird? (7) 

     Swallow, DD. 

12. Can a job offer letter enable leaders to sweet-talk? (6) 

    Cajole, leaders (acrostic, i.e., 1st letters in) “can ... enable”), sweet-talk (def) 

13. Start serving around afternoon (6) 

     Launch, start (def), lunch (serving), around (container), A (afternoon) 

14. Incite to get to minion (3,2,6) 

   Set in motion, implicit meta, incite (def), “to minion” (target), one way to get the target is 

    via, anagram (set) of “in motion” 

15. Absence from work, my dear Thelma, is not acceptable! (6) 

    Dearth, absence (def), from (hidden), rest is fodder. 

16. Lack of verse in song (7) 

     Poverty, lack (def), v (verse), in (insertion), poetry (song) 

17. Angry girl in a tizzy penning a villanelle (8) 

     Madrigal, mad (angry), in a tizzy (anagram of) girl, penning (container), a (a), villanelle 

     (def) 

18. Sacrilege for football country? (11) 

      Profanation, sacrilege (def), pro (for), FA (football), nation (country) 

19. Degradation of French cellar (10) 

      Debasement, degradation (def), de (of in French), basement (cellar) 

20. Check out the ghetto VIP’s huge maneuver (4,2,3,5) 

       Give up the ghost, check out (def), maneuver (anagram of) “ghetto VIPs huge” 

21. Make miso soup without a marsupial? (7) 

       Opossum, make (anagram of) miso soup – i (without a), marsupial (def)