Word Puzzle 79

Word Puzzle 79 – Solution with Explanation

Theme: Sally, Bill and friends.

1. How to reach Seattle via Thane while smuggling an elephant? (9)

o Leviathan, smuggling (hidden), elephant (def), rest is fodder

2. Helpful Bill found in cartoon (10)

o Profitable, helpful (def), tab (Bill), found in (insertion), profile (cartoon)

3. Sally and Alan, weary of smut (8)

o Ribaldry, rib (Sally), Al (Alan), dry (weary), smut (def)

4. Work around during holiday? Not good!! (8)

o Vocation, work (def), o (around), during (insertion), vacation (holiday), not (deletion of) a (good)

5. Sell out and support the dollar bill? (8)

o Backstab, sell out (def), back (support), s (dollar), tab (Bill)

6. Dress for playing after the jubilee ball (7)

o Festoon, dress (def), on (playing), after (positionally later), fest (jubilee), o (ball)

7. How to produce sled Ads from Mel brooks movie? (7,7)

o Blazing Saddles, how to produce (meta), sled Ads (target), one way to get it is via anagram (blazing) of “saddles”

8. Stuff Sally in glue after commencement? (9)

o Equipment, stuff (def), quip (Sally), in (insertion), cement (glue), after commencement (delete first letter in cement)

9. Patrons to curse Tom? (8,4)

o Customer base, implicit meta, “curse Tom” (target), one way to get it is via customer anagram (base)

10. Dated Sally, boarding in the mountain (8)

o Moribund, dated (def), rib (Sally), boarding in (insertion), mound (mountain)

11. Savage heroin consuming high class Bill? (8)

o Scalawag, savage (def), scag (heroin in street slang), consuming (container), A (high class), law (Bill)

12. Wild babe!! (6)

o Virgin, DD

13. “Almighty” : The tome on Doctor Bob? (10)

o Omnipotent, Almighty (def), doctor (anagram of) t (the) + tome + on + nip (Bob)

14. Hotfoot to lead the marathon (8)

o Headlong, hotfoot (def), head (lead), long (marathon)

15. Gift Bill a telescope (7)

o Compact, comp (gift), act (Bill), telescope (def)

16. Brief state sentence served (10)

o Evanescent, brief (def), served (anagram of) VA (state) + sentence

17. Old lady hiding in lift at a Roman institution for elderly (9)

o Inamorata, old lady (def), hiding (hidden), in lift (reverse scan), rest is fodder

18. Product development (7)

o Outcome, DD

19. Crawl with Jack and Sally? (8)

o Lollygag, crawl (def), lolly (Jack), gag (Sally)

20. Keynote speaker’s army rank (7)

o Colonel, kernel (keynote), speaker’s (homophone), army rank (def)

21. Smart and cool, IT Ops guy replaced? (12)

o Cosmopolitan, smart (def), replaced (anagram of) cool + IT + Ops + man (guy)