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Obscure vault 99 (7)
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It's the cryptic crossword discussion game. Tease each other with clues, help each other with the dailies, educate the beginners, whatever.
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Upmaking
[st d] They're my own creation, and you're bang on with that one.

[Blob] Both correct. Congrats.

Here are another three to be going on with ...
a) Stories of feet ? (7)
b) Gold deer managed church. Allow beforehand ? The opposite ! (3,2,9)
c) Ring first - ring around by Jove ! (8)
Is b) LET OR HINDRANCE... I think not cos I haven't managed to work the deer in...
[rab] The two-foot tree - PAWPAW?
HIND
Its a reference to The Goilden Hind I do believe and a very tortuous one at that. Well I have a pretty rubbish one that isn't quite right but I reckon could be gotten away iwth in an iffy puzzle :-
Digitally enhance fringes (7)
and two old favorites from the guardian :-
HIJKLMNO (5)
They meet for lunch (5)[_ _ _ T _]
Paws for thought
[Hugo Rune] Yes!
[st d] Please explain the Golden Hind reference.
Fingered by the fuzz
[st d] Your first is FINGERS. As you say, iffy, because the definition defines a different part of speech.
Golden Hind
Not quite Golden Hind. Gold = Or, Giving Or hind ran CE the rest is obvious of course. What about (a) and (c) I thought (a) was particularly straightforward.
[st d] Hah, like the alphabet soup. That'd be WATER, then. My duck coop was FENCE, incidentally.
rab
"digitally touches up fringes"? oh i give up. Its crap anyway. :o)
H2O Bang on!
blob] is it your go in chess ?
Nothing!
How DO you blank out bits of these messages? Or is there a webmaster with an mouse-controlled blue pencil? E2982 complete: are they getting easier?
Blankety-blank
[Jon] It seems so - dictionary required only for one clue this week.

Meanwhile if you want to hide some text you do <font color="white">X marks the spot, ah-ha me hearties</font> like this. If I was clever, I'd find a way to make it easier for you all.

Blank thoughts
[rab] Highjack some little-used HTML tag (strikethrough, maybe?) and jigger it in a stylesheet?
Blankety-blank
which doesn't work if you spell colour colour...
Blankety-blank
Youreallyshouldn'thavetoldmethat!
They Meet for Lunch (5)
is TEETH. I liked it anyway. :o)
Still to do
No-one's had a go at
a) Stories of feet ? (7)
or
c) Ring first - ring around by Jove ! (8)
yet.

[std] re Chess: I'll have a look

Not sure about those
...but the latest Eye is eluding me. Remaining are Time Out's opener on Heath: "Bore" (5) [T_T_D, which leads me to think it's T+O+TED, but none of the meanings of tote correspond with bore, as far as I can see] and Garland on "Learning to be a siren" (7) [L_R_L_I - absolutely no ideas here, although I'm wondering if siren is meant in its ghostly context].
The second must be LORELEI, from the letters. Ok, it works as Learning=LORE, garland=LEI (Hawaiian), siren=LORELEI.
He speaks to the moon, in song. (8)
My suitor left me to become a cobbler. (5)
[Raak] Thanks.
"Bore"
[rab] You're right - "toted" = "carried" = "bore".
Cunning
[Wol] A-ha! Was being too holey in my thought processes...
holeyer than thou
[rab] Bless you my child - for that, thy sins are forgiven thee ...
Helping hand ...
a) Stories of feet ? (7) * E * E * D *
and
c) Ring first - ring around by Jove ! (8) C * * L * S * *
[Blob] (a) LEG ENDS.
(c) CALLISTO - CALL (ring) IST (first) O (ring) satellite of Jupiter (around by Jove).
*ting* *ting*
[Raak] Spot on. Not that convoluted were they ?
Are there any left to be got?
Raak's?
Ah. Can't do them.
Hints required?
The first is O _ _ _ _ _ _ _, the second is a moderately obscure word borrowed from Latin.
Seeing the half light ...
[Raak] The first one must be ORATORIO [orator + io].. Quite straightforward with the first letter given.
I haven't had time to study the second clue, but is the definition borrowed from Latin?
[Chalky] The word means the same in English as it did in Latin. And of course, the definition is in the clue.
Another clue for the same word:
He'd waste away if sent back to the Soviet Union, but not beyond the last. (5)
Another clue
Poirot used to have someone back to make his shoes. (5)
And two more
"Nonsense!" we wrote back to the cobbler. (5)
Besides the dominie, the other learned man in a Scottish village. (5) (May require specialised knowledge, such as one of Neil Innes' novels.)
Here's another
Some understood the original reason, both at first and at last. (5)
I presume these are all clues to the same word...
They are indeed, and here's two more.
At last, the southern aristocrat has reached the door to Germany. (5)
Roust! Roust! At last! (5)
Of the eight clues:
one consists of just the definition,
one is an anagram,
one is an embedding,
one subtracts a letter from a word,
one uses initial letters,
and three break the word down and clue its components.
(These descriptions are in alphabetical order.)
Right, I geddit...
SUTOR, but never heard of it before
Correct!
Rare, even obsolete down south, but it may linger on in the Scottish dialect.
A new clue (for a different word)
Intended to hold final redistribution of money (7)
the different word
[btw Raak - enjoyed the multiclue]
Yes, MF, FINANCÉ [Intended = FIANCÉ, holding the last letter of redistribution = N,] fits the definition, but I can't help feeling I've overcooked it ...
*ting*
That was quick, well done. Didn't expect the Intended to be picked up so quickly.
In that case, how about ...
Uncommon Ale; one I digest (never my first) - and only very rarely (4,2,1,4,4)
I'm thinking it's ONCE IN A BLUE MOON but can't work out why.
A new clue for another different word
I meant to add this:
Hesitate about small business centre (4)
[Chalky] CO (small business) + RE ("er" backwards).
rab *ting*
[rab]Spot on; it's an anagram but with an M (my first) removed - it would have been harder (but still I think acceptable) to have not included the "- and only very rarely" - the definition then being the "Uncommon" which doubled up as part of the anagram.
Er ....
Hmmm - Apologies - I've just looked at it and seen that somehow I missed out the B - sorry, sorry, sorry - will check them better in future.
Nothing still outstanding?
It's not right to scry the lawnmower. (6)
He'll summon you for taking a bad grip on a faulty reamer. (4,6)
Raak's
Second one would be GRIM REAPER?
Sorry, it hit me straight away - I'll have a look at the first one when I'm finished what I'm up to.
Back again
Your first, Raak would be SCYTHE ?
Ruddy 'eck
*chuckles* I'm a bit slow - I only saw the connection 'tween the two after I'd posted my last entry.
... Is Raak hinting something ... ?
Sowing ....
The time has come for this one or Huw ! (3,2,3,4)
Running up to a mate ? (3-4)
Get memory back ? Now begin, cringe not badly - The aroma of a great game !(10,8)
(Boldly)
I think I've got the third of those... but I suspect we really need to solve the first two first!
1,2,3
I perhaps ought to modify the first one slightly ...
The time has come for this one or Huw - that's crazy ! (3,2,3,4)
Running up to a mate ? (3-4)
Get memory back ? Now begin, cringe not badly - The aroma of a great game !(10,8)
[rab,Blob] They are NOW IS THE HOUR and END GAME. I wonder what the third could be?
It looks like it might be Mornington Crescent.
None
*shouts, screams, generally goes wild for rab*
Whoops, didn't mean to be so bold...
*ding*, *ding* & *ding*
I think that's what Raak was suggesting !
Festive Film Fun
This is from a quiz list that appeared in our office a couple of days ago, we have managed quite a few.
See how many you can get before looking at the answers.

A Seasonal Christmas Quiz of 100 Cryptic Film Tiltles
1. Mallard Minestrone Duck Soup 2. Yeti's writing fluid Monster's Inc.
3. Becky's grown up Rebecca 4. Bowling lane, but how's it spelt? Ali
5.Hope this doesn't keep you awake at night? A Nighthare on Elms Street 6. Welsh emblem finised its book? Red Dragon
7. Definite measure of plural time? End of Days 8. Overtaking on the Motorways? Life in the Fast Lane
9. I'm sure I've got one of these on my computer! (Don't feed them after midnight) Gremlins 10. Where debutante yetis go? Monster's Ball
11. Coloured eye zone. Iris 12. How old is this popsicle? ?
13. Not The Bad Boy, but... Good Fellas 14. Continue, little Cleopatra! Carry on Cleo.
15. Initial letters of this family car game. See? ISPY 16. Staay out of sight. Also catch up on the darning. Lilo and Stitch
17. Seventies teen mag joins a dark tan. ? 18. One of these is this; Countdown. Catchphrase. ?
19. Fast train in the middle of the night. Midnight Express 20. Collectively, they have no vices. ?
21. Local transport firm in the spotlight? ? 22.Tempted to do this to annoying parent en route from Swindon to Paddington? Throw Mama from the Train
23. Desert hero definetely not empty. The Full Monty 24. Not "Cat Night Morning". but... Dog Day Afternoon
25. Egglayer Sprint Chicken Run 26.Limited Liabliity Joint Stock________definetely belongs to Midlands FC A Company of Wolves
27. Head of hockey team meets life liquid Captain Blood 28. Tiny, huge adult male. Little Big Man
29. Slapped your lunar body. Moonstruck 30. Offspring of G.W.R. Workforce? Definitely. The Railway Children
31. Azure homocide at infamous girls' seat of learning. Blue Murder at St. Trinians 32. Singular gorgeous brain. A Beautiful Mind
33. Remaining group members. ? 34. Direction of falling raptor who's the opposite of white Black Hawk Down
35. Mr "London Bridge" in the Good Life meets Dr "Mac" in Doctors Jerry MacGuire 36. Little Henry isn't deep Shallow Hal
37. Yankee trousers go with lightning ? 38. Curve definite item in mannerof celeb. Footie star. Bend it Like Beckham
39. Definitely a film for Mr Straw's donkey Jackass the Movie 40. Bugs can't get through this boundary ?
41. Give wrestling area a call? Rings 42. Scorpio's creature is dfinitely a ruler. Scorpion King
43. Half of this clue goes with a Beast. The other half is a colour Black Beauty 44. Cry from a children's game It
45. Definitely pop me one of these to relive my teens! ? 46. Summon E.R.'s Dr. Noah. Get Carter
47. Lucky number of days in the week. 7 48. Another E.R. clue. Where's the hospital? St. Elsewhere
49. Similar to short Micheal Just Like Mike 50. Light black is spelt the American way with Miss Church Charlotte Gray
51. Sandy Mound Dune 52. What comes between answer 51 and the water The Beach
53. Elephant General Hannibal 54. Initially an apple and an Indian A.I.
55. Introduce a controlled water source to a backbone This is Spinal Tap 56. 'Allo, 'Allo parody nation make the link French Connection
57. Volume of this on London Bridge Jerry Trraffic 58.Clue 56's Twix and Mars bars Chocolat
59. Bards proclamation of deep affection Shakespeare in Love 60. Little Laaady haas finish delayed ?
61. Keegan and Fred the sportsmen travel on a big scale Kevin and Perry Go Large 62. Eg Jets and Sharks Gangs of New York
63. Heroic Organ Braaveheart 64. T.S. Meets The Kid...(wot, the 'ell) Billy Elliot
65. Mad peanut butter is definitely this scientific lecturer. The Nutty Proffessor 66. What is left before nightfall ?
67. Definitely a faultless direct attack by troops ? 68. This particular Dartington is not light stuff ?
69. Tell me a secret in Los Angeles L.A. Confidential 70. Sight organs aren't so narrow or open Eyes Wide Shut
71. Rodent marathon for instance Rat race 72. Development of a different type of race ?
73. Mr. Web Spiderman 74. Howard Carter was one of these (officially) Tomb Raider
75. Traditionally a baby girl definitely gets one of these at the font. ? 76. Part of Chaucer's pilgrimage epic (Just the one) A Knights Tale
77. It rains like this, yap,yap, miaow Cats and Dogs 78. Heavenly ice-cream ?
79. Singular mathematical formula ? 80. Take first person, singular from shriek Shrek
81. Before the House of Hanover, it wasn't huge. ? 82. Adds their autographs. Signs
83. Initially needs to 'phone home' ET 84. Tony the Frosties star bends his knees. Pete's Disney pet is out of sight Crouching Tiger, Hidden Lion
85. Goldilocks' middle sized bear definitely comes back The Mummys Return 86. Timely catastrophe Apocalypse Now
87. Insects with a letter error. Bugz 88. Wiltshire folktale features misguided lunar image capture. Just 1. Moonraker
89. Mot a majority feedback Minority Report 90. Add together every dread ?
91. This vast, portly nuptial celebration in Athens, is mine My Big Fat Greek Wedding 92. Do these members of a football team belong to the sea perhaps? Ocean 11
93. Anxious kitchen for example Panic Room 94. Definitely named when one enters the world. ?
95. 33rd American President stages solo performances, just once? The Truman Show 96. Magnetic direction alongside 45 degrees less Nort by North West
97. Sesame Steet's vampire belongs to Jesus' mountain whatever the language The Count of Monte Christo 98. Definitely employment for Mario. The Italian Job
99. The full snake joins the elusive clerical goblet Monty Python and the Holy Grail 100. Is the contents of the book relating to the man-child ?
Films
I'm as far from a film buff as one might possibly get, however, how about four of them?
79: "Big Bang"
81: "Stuart Little"
90: "Fearsome"
94: "Birth"
One more
A bit of a long shot:
66: The Sinister Shadow?
Sorry, I intended to put those in 'white' ... Hides head in shame
frustration
Sorry to drag this mouldy old game out of the cupboard, but I'm stuck on 3 clues in today's Grauniad and may go insane if I don't at least air them. It's by Bunthorne, in case anyone knows the setters well enough for that information to help (I don't, though I know I like some better than others).

27 Across: Backhanders part of this player's service? (9) S _ * _ * _ E _ R
23 Down: The pen of Zeus? (4) _ E _ *
24 Down: She's between borrower and lender (4) _ O _ *

(The asterisks mark the points of intersection, in case that's not totally obvious.)

24 Down
"NORA"? As in neither a borrower nor a lender be?
23 Down
I was thinking of "AURA" (Zeus turned her into a fountain) but apart from being somewhat of a stretch it would muck up your 'E'.
27 Across
"SCRIVENER"? Anagram of 'service' and 'RN' - the latter being the 'senior service' and a type of cigarette produced by Players. Convoluted? Backhander/Bribe/Broker/Scrivener ??? Dunno. Anyway, again, it'll muck up your 'E' in this one too. I shall retire.
Doncha just hate it?
Why am I confusing myself and attacking clues about which I know sweet bugger all? 23 Down could be "LEDA" ... If I recall correctly Zeus diguised himself as a swan to seduce her - which would make her a pen?

That would blow 'Scrivener' out of the water which, given the 'E' conflict sounds reasonable.

      L   N            
  E O    
  D R    
SHAMATEUR
         
         
         

Got the beggars - I think. ... :-/

All correct, I think. NORA came to me in the night, and I'd actually considered LEDA but not added it up right and gone off on some other tangent. I would never have had any hope of getting SHAMATEUR, a word I don't think I've ever encountered before. It doesn't appear in my (somewhat old) Collins English Dictionary, for example, although it does turn out to be the only result of egrep ^s.a.a.e.r$ /usr/share/dict/words.

Anyway, thank you: not only insanity avoided, but a new word learned as well. I shall be forever trying to find excuses to use it in conversation :)

These days, matt, the oportunities would be few and far between. I remember the word being used fairly frequently in days gone by - mainly to do with Olympic Games competitors and Rugby Union players in the days when all participants were supposed to be amateurs. Whilst the meaning of the word is pretty much obvious, as is its etymology, I'm not sure when it was coined. One source (Allwords.com) indicates the late 19C. The dictionary I have here in the workshop (Penguin) is of no assistance.
Hrmph. 'opportunities'
Being boring, no doubt.
"The first use of the actual term shamateur recorded in the OED dates from 1896 when the Badminton Magazine declared `For frank and open professionalism there may be a good deal to be said, but nothing can make ... the "shamateur" attractive.'" (from http://www2.umist.ac.uk/sport/Sports%20History/Birley.html)
Sorry, sometimes a wee bit of trivia worries away at me. I'll shut up now.
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