"Crypticity thy name is Mornington"

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Having shamelessly killed off Putting it another way your majesty - I will now shamelessly initiate a game of Cryptic Clues ... you know the rules : Cryptic (crossword style) clues to London Underground station names.

As there are a limited number of stations, do not give letter count initially (unless you want to) - word count may be the first extra clue to give. Up to you.

• Blob: It's back in but not replaced.
• mr cholmondley warner: [Blob] - Alperton

  ---

  Sounds like we could have a wait before Babylon
• Blob: [MrCW] Kew (Queue) [Hanging] Gardens methinks ...

  Mark of a crusader's helmet - the other way round !

• Blob: [MrCW] Oh, BTW, your answer was of course correct. wd.
• mr cholmondley warner: [Blob] Hatton Cross? ie Cross on hat. Btw - Is anyone else playing - not that I mind...
• Boolbar: [Blob] I agree with Mr CW. Would you like to try
  Insects subjected to gravity and heat are unwell
• mr cholmondley warner: [Boolbar] I assume you are referring to Gants Hill so why don't we go for... Othello's playground
• Barry the Time Sprout: Moor Park I assume. (hmm, maybe one typeface for clues and another for answers might be better, in which vein ...)
  The French bivalve is confused
• Elizian: Osterley

  Plenty of room for camping - and campanology?

• mr cholmondley warner: [Elizian] Belsize Park
• Sounds like our 'Pop Idols' study is a golfers dream
• Elizian: Willesden Green

  I was in it for the money, initially, but always need Kudos

• Blob: Aha - things have been happening in my absence ! [MrCW] H.C. was correct.
  [Eliz] Bank (initial letters)

  Oportunity nearly upsetting

• Blob: or even - Opportunity nearly upsetting
• Barry the Time Sprout: [Blob] Chancery Lane [Elizian] Ding! [Anyone] I'm being thick, but I get Will and I get Green but can someone explain the "esden" part?
  Mayor with a heavy load
• Simplicissimus: Barry pinned me to the spot with Chancery Lane - I was just about to press Send
• Elizian: [BtTS, et al ] forgot denouément - Willes = Pop Idol's; den = study; Green = golfers ...
• Simplicissimus: Kennington (Mayor=Ken, load=ton)
  
  If Ken can't...
• Barry the Time Sprout: Barbican (as in Ken and Barbie) Actually, my clue was for Kenton but close enough (sorry 'bout the simulpost, too).
  Doctor examines crimson sore
• Blob: [BtTS] Well I'm not 100% confident, but I reckon Shoreditch - being sho(w) red itch, where show (examines) has been doctored, or docked at least.
  Assuming that to be correct then :
  Raptor propelled boat we hear - or French first.
• mr cholmondley warner: [Blob] Excellent - Goldhawk Road
• pollen collector surrounds an embarrassing minor disagreement that has lost part-time staff
• Barry the Time Sprout: Becontree (Bee around "contretemps - temps") [mrcw] very nice. [Blob] Right answer, not quite the reasoning I was using. "SHO" is short for "senior house officer", a particular sort of doctor in hospitals. "examines" was just there for filler, but it probably seemed a bit too loaded in retrospect.
  Conflict splits the side in two
• Elizian: Edgware conflict = war embedded in edge = side.

  Does Phil practice here?

• mr cholmondley warner: Tufnell Park [Elizian] Bizarrely that was going to be my next one, so.....
  
  Richard, shortly, questioning his own value
• Carmine: Rickmansworth rick + mans + worth
  
  Start off cross
• antihero: Dammit, I can only think of New Cross, which clearly isn't good enough. I suck.
• Blob: [Carmine] Stratford (anag. of start + ford (crossing)) - liked that one

  Fashionable turn-out

• Elizian: Poplar [fashionable = popular; turn = u, removed(out)]

  Children? Nippers?? I'll take them back in!

• mr cholmondley warner: Pinner Children Nippers (read backwards)
  
  Sir Thomas surrounds confused groovers who have lost their queen
• mr cholmondley warner: With the benefit of hindsight it appears this Thomas wasn't knighted - however he was 'composed'?
• Blob: Sir Thomas Arne (of Rule Britannia fame) around anag. of groovs (ER having departed) gives us Arnos Grove

  Failure to include musical composition

• Blob: (Beknighted or not ...)
• Blob: Note: That last comment was directed at MrCW's comment, as he'd simmulposted my answer and therefore has nothing to do with

  Failure to include musical composition.

• mr cholmondley warner: [Blob] So was he or wasn't he? (Knighted that is)
• Blob: [MrCW] No, he wasn't - but I guessed that's who you meant anyway.
• NHP: Can I suggest an answer All Saints.
• Elizian: Fairlop: failure = flop {includes} mus. comp'n = air

  Howzat!? Out, like Nasser

• Blob: Like Nasser is an anagram of Kensal Rose - presume the Howzat!? was just a bluff.

  Claire in agony ? Worse ! She's been killed we hear !

• Elizian: Rayner's Lane Claire = Rayner; killed <sounds like> slain.
  Howzat!? was just contextual padding; you forgive that and I'll let you off for Rose.

  Opera on board with beer to follow

• mr cholmondley warner: I'm guessing at Maida Vale , have the opera (Aida) and beer (ale) not sure about the M & V though
• Elizian: [mr c w] Bravo! MV = Motor Vessel, a commonly used device for ship, etc.. Carry on Clueing ...
• Barry the Time Sprout: Sorry to jump in not having solved anything recently or what have you, but:
  This month contains much gloom
• Blob: [BtTS] I presume that that is Marble Arch being March around blear - the latter meaning dim & obscure, hence gloom. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
  [Eliz] Er, yes, fair do's ;-) (I was obviously in past tense mode !) - and I had no objection to the Howzat padding - I just wondered if I'd missed something.Meanwhile an easy one -

  Sit down, your majesty !

• Elizian: [Blob] Consider the Bravo! redirected to you.
  [BtTS, Blob] Er ... Isn't it still February? Or did I oversleep again??
  
• Blob: [Eliz] I took the this to mean simply "this particular" rather than "this one that we're currently in" - If Barry meant Feb (or inst) would mean we had to keep puzzling. Anyway, anyone gonna solve Sit down, your majesty ?
• Carmine: Okay...Park (sit down) + Royal (your majesty)
  
  Traps lesser castle
• Elizian: [Blob] Yes, of course; that will do fine.
  Snaresbrook [traps = snares; b = lesser (than a); rook = castle (chess)]

  Mash tea and stir

• Blob: East Ham being an anagram of Mash Tea

  The study of one who plays about these parts (but not here as yet)

• Blob: [Eliz] BTW well done getting Carmine's - I was sure it was Snaresbrook (because of the Snare) - but couldn't make out the "brook" B-rook, very good (and well set, Carmine).
• Elizian: I can only guess that it is Debden : [Deb = sometime MC player + den = study]

  Do Shakespeare and doctor from a German city meet here?

• Blob: [Eliz] *Wrong* - Though I think the correct answer may appear shortly ....
• Néa: [Blob] You must be a mind-reader! My guess is (ahem) Neasden. (I'll let Elizian's clue stand for the next person though)
• Blob: [Néa] *ting* Correct - Well done - however did you get that ?
• Elizian: [Néa] Well done! (despite your unfair advantage:-) ) I am slightly ashamed that I did not think of you before "Deb" and [Blob] it was an excellent clue. Thanks for leaving mine in place ...

  Do Shakespeare and doctor from a German city meet here?

• Boolbar: Must be Willesden Junction ?
  Shakespeare=Will ; Dresden - DR = esden and Junction being a place where two things meet.

  around 0.5150

• Néa: Oval? around = O; 0,5150 = value = val...
  
  Disarray of a Serb dungeon
• Boolbar: [Néa] Correct, but it was a little more subtle than that, in fact the "around" mearly hints at the answer and isn't needed in the clue . . . . :o)
• Blob: [Bool] Well Néa's answer is perfectly valid - I presume after a little extra looking that 0.=O, 5= V (Roman), 1 = A (1st letter or One = a), 50 = L (Roman). But as I say, Néa's is just fine IMHO.
• Boolbar: [Blob] Indeed Néa's answer was perfectly valid - hence my use of the word "correct" :o)
  I just hadn't considered that possible route to the answer.
  Oh BTW Bounds Green (anag. of Serb Dungeon)

  First one then many trees

• Blob: [Bool] Yes, "correct" summed up the situation quite well really. Meanwhile Oakwood would seem fair.

  Spooner's kicking the investigator

• rab: Look, yabastards, will you professionals give us lesser mortals a fighting chance of getting these. I just worked out the last two before being pipped at the post...
• Blob: [rab] oops sorry. Professional indeed !
• Zinnwald: Tooting Bec ... do I need to re-spell it out? like a beehive or a towering mohican
• Barry the Time Sprout: High Barnet
  Jerry's ideal home?
• Elizian: It's a shame that Mousehole isn't on the Underground! :-) I'm not getting anywhere with

  Jerry's ideal home?

• Barry the Time Sprout: (2 words)
• Boolbar: Custom House? (as in Cus Tom House)
• Barry the Time Sprout: [Boolbar] Nope. Another clue will be forthcoming if everyone's still stuck when I log on again this evening.
• rab: In the meantime, may I pose an easier puzzle:
  Upset, ran amok, but not before lunch!
• Blob: Ok.... I think BtTS's Jerry may be Mansion House for fairly obscure reasons of Sion (Zion) in Mouse - but I'm probably wrong.
  [Rab] Yours is Burnt Oak being an anagram of "ran amok but" without "am" for morning.
  My next one is tricky. I may have to give clues, and I will tell you for free that it is not any kind of anagram.

  One femtolitre quaquaversally

• Blob: Er - well, not an anagram of anything you see anyway (sorry if this is even more confusing).
• Boolbar: [Blob] Hmmm, Northfields and Southfields sort of fit the bill, but rather clumsily. ie. North E(ast) D(own) S(outh) are directions and 1fl = IFL.
• Blob: [Bool] see your reasoning, but no. I think that once you get this you'll be pretty confident that you've got it right - just takes a bit of thinking about.
• Barry the Time Sprout: [Blob] Sorry, not Mansion House. It's quite a cheesy answer to be honest. Not got a clue as to yours, though.
• rab: Swiss cottage? Seems to fit the bill...
• rab: So a clue: Play about bath
• Carmine: Acton Town I believe. Since One femtolitre quaquaversally may take no little time, here's another easy one:
  
  Leading manner
• Barry the Time Sprout: [rab] Correct!
• Blob: Just to summarise things : There are now three outstanding clues :
  1. One femtolitre quaquaversally set by Blob
  2. Play about bath set by rab
  3. Leading manner set by Carmine

• Blob: Oh sorry - Carmine solved No.2 - Apologies
• Blob: (sorry for the triple post) - Leading Manner is I reckon Archway, I'm not actually convinced that Acton Town is the right answer to rab's Play about bath, but as yet a better alternative eludes me.
• Elizian: Leading manner might, equally, be Queensway - we await the return of Carmine with bated breath.
• rab: [Blob] The answer was Acton Town. Seems fairly kosher to me, unless you're quibbling about the fact that Bath is in fact a city, and neither play nor about are direct synonyms for act and on respectively. (Although, in the sense I meant them, they are!)
• Raak: Could Leading Manner be Highgate? Though it doesn't quite fit, since "gate" only sounds like a word for "manner" ("gait") and there's no "sounds like" indication in the clue.
• rab: Dunno. Anyway, I'm going away for a bit, so I'll give another (presumably) easy-ish one in the hope that you get it before I leave this evening:
  What one might say having been charged with exchanging pounds for cents
• Carmine: [blob] Archway is correct. I'm not sure how Queens could be an answer for 'leading', though, [Elizian].
• Blob: It's a Fairclop Guv !
  Indeed the fact that Bath is a city did seem a little strange ... and the lack of capitalization also suggested some other meaning. Never mind - Carmine got it.
  While you're still musing over One femtolitre quaquaversally (tip: look at the magnitude prefix it's very important) I'll set an easier one to be going on with.

  One of four in the more recent evidence relating to a tree

• Blob: Ah, two things : (i) my stricken "c" hasn't come out very well in Fairlop ... and ...
  (ii) In the clue I just gave the station in question is what might be considered an honorary rather than a full member of the club.
• rab: [Blob] Re Fairlop: Congrats. Re Bath: crossword setter's licence. Altering the capitalisation, punctuation etc and being ambigous as to whether somethings a verb or a noun seem to be standard tricks to throw the solver off the scent. Anyway, off to Vienna now, so seeya!
• gil: Not really cryptic, but I came across this excellent 5*5 "Irish" crossword at the weekend, and had to share it with you:

  1	2	3	4	5
  6
  7
  8
  9

  Across:
  • 1 What a collector does to a ticket
  • 6 A party drink
  • 7 Blow
  • 8 The archetype of wife beaters
  • 9 Satirical magazine
  Down
  • 1 Major favourite
  • 2 Females clad in wool
  • 3 Egg manufacturers
  • 4 There are many more than the seven mentioned
  • 5 Frequently dropped
• Elizian: [Gil] Excellent; one might even say knock-out :-)
• Phil: [Blob] One femtolitre quaquaversally .... one femtolitre = one pico-cubic-centimetre, or pico one cc, "picc". Dunno where "adilly" could come from, but "Circus" could derive from quaquaversally (dipping in every direction). Therefore my guess is Piccadilly Circus although it doesn't quite fit...
• Carmine: Just to summarize, for I have no answers
  
  

  Clue	Guess
  One femtolitre quaquaversally	Piccadilly Circus
  One of four in the more recent evidence relating to a tree	no current guess

  
  Phew!!! Alot of typing, there.
• Blob: [Phil, Carmine] Re One femtolitre quaquaversally You're so close - but have got to the wrong station. If you think of the alternative to "cubic centimetre" and then abbreviated it I think you'd get there pretty quickly.
  Re One of four in the more recent evidence relating to a tree (2 words) - remember it's not a full member ... but it's shown on the standard map ...
• Phil: [Blob] It came to me in bed at 11:55 last night... Pimlico !!
  a pico millilitre, not cubic centimetre. 1ml with pico, quaquaversally, is P-iml-ico. Phew!
• Blob: [phil] Congratulations ! You have won tonight's star prize ! ... How about the "easier" one ? (I thought it was easy anyway)
• Phil: [Blob] I have an idea about the "one of four" but can't work it into the rest yet . . . .
• Wol: 'one of four ...' must be Gospel Oak ...
• Wol: ooh, sorry - a clue (so excited by solving one I nearly forgot). Here it is: e.
• Zinnwald: Looks like a little E - broadened by italic script - is it Ealing Broadway? I'll get my (humiliatingly easy) clue in now - even if that's not right... Six off a hundred conservatives plus a queen

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