Word Puzzle 97

Word Puzzle 97 – Solution with Explanation

Theme: None.

Clues:

1. Canteen taco treat for the couple (11)

Concatenate, treat (anagram of) “canteen taco”, couple (def)

2. Watching Nadal beat Federer after umpteenth rally in intrigue (8)

Enthrall, intrigue (def), in (hidden), rest is fodder.

3. Soccer alternative adopted by Italian city during springtime (11)

Florescence, alternative (select alternate letters in) soccer, adopted by (container), Florence

    (Italian city), springtime (def)

4. Spear fish (4)

Pike, DD

5. Cause Sensex to lose direction? (8)

Engender, cause (def), Sensex – s (lose direction), now replace gender for sex.

6. Sugary center of cloudland surrounded by the sea? (7)

Maudlin, sugary (def), udl (center of cloudland), surrounded by (insertion), main (sea)

7. Unusual element without luminance that’s vaporous (8)

Rarefied, rare (unusual), field (element), without (delete) L (luminance), vaporous (def)

8. Annoy people to eat fresh? (6, 8)

Ruffle feathers, implicit meta, annoy people (def), eat fresh (target), one way to get “eat

fresh” is via anagram (ruffle) of feathers.

9. Flyer for a shopping center next to a road (7)

Mallard, flyer (def as in duck), mall (shopping center), a (a), rd (road)

10. Right slice of red raw steak? (6)

  Redraw, right (def), slice (hidden), rest is fodder.

11. Condemn Cuba over the promise (7)

   Censure, condemn (def), C (Cuba), over (juxtaposition), ensure (promise)

12. Busy with unending obligation on promissory notes (9)

   Officious, busy (def), unending (delete last letter in) office (obligation), IOUs (promissory

  notes)

13. Foreshadow in part that, a dumb rat ends up dead (9)

   Adumbrate, foreshadow (def), in part (hidden), rest is fodder.

14. Work in global crime stoppers organization with Fed (11)

   Interpolate, work in (def), Interpol (global crime stoppers organization), ate (fed)

15. How to find our DNA? Apply method to overcome the issue in code say (4-6)

   Work-around, how to find (meta), “our DNA” (target), rest is def, one way to get the

  target is via anagram (work) of around.

16. Can’t cross a ground that’s sacred (10)

   Sacrosanct, ground (anagram of) “can’t cross a”, sacred (def)

17. Miss leggy Ana in trouble? (3,2,3)

   Lay an egg, miss (def), in trouble (anagram of) “leggy Ana.”

18. Approximate method (8)

   Approach, DD

19. Keen to ditch the worker? (9)

   Trenchant, keen (def), trench (ditch), ant (worker)

20. Figuring to get cuter? (8)

   Thinking, figuring (def), to get (implicit meta), cuter (target), one way to get cuter is via

  think (cut), king (ER)

21. Go back touring Portugal and get arrested (7)

   Trapped, back (reversal of) depart (go), touring (container), P (Portugal), arrested (def)