Cryptic Crosswords

[morbeedo]

If I'm right, then this one is a little meta!

Frontier stew, cryptically (4,4)

[morbeedo]

Stuck! Polly who?! I got the middle part but it's not coming together for me

Polly's South American cousin holding family coat (8)

[Magna]

Stuck! Polly who?! I got the middle part but it's not coming together for me

Polly's South American cousin holding family coat (8)

What's the middle part? I believe "Polly" refers to

Spoiler

a parrot or relative of a parrot. Cockatoo and parakeet have the correct number of letters.

[Magna]

I started a new puzzle and need some help

I think I got this one: One in 3,000 - first-class liberal man, for example

Spoiler

M-a-MM + A + L = mammal (man, for ex.) - but how does liberal translate to just L

Spoiler

L is the abbreviation for "liberal" in several different contexts - such as Britain's Liberal party.

[Magna]

For 5 across:

Spoiler

Callow
Elsie, for one = cow
eating everything = contains "all"
green = callow

[morbeedo]

Polly's South American cousin holding family coat (8)
I believe "Polly" refers to

Spoiler

a parrot or relative of a parrot. Cockatoo and parakeet have the correct number of letters.

Spoiler

OK. Then it's MAC - kin - AW. I didn't know that word for coat. This one's tricky because "Polly's South American cousin" altogether stands for macaw, whereas I was looking for separate clues there

[Magna]

For 24 across:

Spoiler

Coward
Raw cod, nuts = letters of "raw cod" scrambled
chicken = synonym of "coward"

[Magna]

Polly's South American cousin holding family coat (8)
I believe "Polly" refers to

Spoiler

a parrot or relative of a parrot. Cockatoo and parakeet have the correct number of letters.

Spoiler

OK. Then it's MAC - kin - AW. I didn't know that word for coat

You might have heard it in the lyrics of "The Wells Fargo Wagon" from The Music Man. It was one of the things the wagon delivered.

[seaborgium]

I've got a couple of answers that I'm pretty sure of, but can't explain fully.

14 Across: Kills two fools in a backwards place (12)

Spoiler

I have ASSASSINATES = kills, with "two fools" being "ass ass"—oh, I just figured it out. "In a" directly corresponds to the next three letters in the answer, and "set" can mean "place," so "backwards place" is "tes" at the end. I was trying to figure out what kind of a place "setani" was, and why the two fools were adjacent to it rather than in it as the clue said.

21 Down: Endlessly checking out old building in Las Vegas (6)

Spoiler

CASINO must be "building in Las Vegas," with "casin" being "endlessly checking out" ("casing" without its end), but I don't know what justifies the O. Is that just "old" made a little more endless than "casing" was?

[rjaguar3]

1 Across (Huge reduction in fossil fuel (8))

Spoiler

COLOSSAL: Huge reduction in fossil fuel: LOSS inside COAL.

9 Across (Spanish Rich and Chester make a comeback (8))

Spoiler

RICOCHET: Spanish Rich and Chester make a comeback: RICO is Spanish for Rich, CHET is a nickname for Chester.

26 Across (Three-part singing voice (6))

Spoiler

TREBLE: double-definition (treble means threefold [or three-part] or a singing voice).

29 Across (Doctor No, e.g. said "Identify the disease" (8))

Spoiler

DIAGNOSE: Doctor No, e.g. said "Identify the disease": anagram of "No, e.g. said" (indicated by doctor).

4 Down (Hear an animal again (4))

Spoiler

ANEW: Hear an animal again: sounds like "a gnu"

7 Down (Cover, in a way, antimale novel (8))

Spoiler

LAMINATE: Cover, in a way, antimale novel: anagram of antimale (novel is the indicator)

16 Down (A Florida athlete embraces one-time troublemaker (8))

Spoiler

AGITATOR: A Florida athlete embraces one-time troublemaker: A + GATOR surrounding I (for one) + T (for time)?

19 Down (Small automobile permit is red (7))

Spoiler

SCARLET: Small automobile permit is red: S (for small) + CAR (for automobile) + LET (for permit)

20 Down (Good crew's activity on the rise (7))

Spoiler

GROWING: Good crew's activity on the rise: G (from good) + ROWING (crew's activity)

22 Down (Stick poster on this spot (6))

Spoiler

ADHERE: Stick poster on this spot: AD (for poster) + HERE (on this spot)

25 Down (Still one fabulous beast (4))

Spoiler

YETI: Still one fabulous beast: YET (for still) + I (for one).

[morbeedo]

I've got a couple of answers that I'm pretty sure of, but can't explain fully.

14 Across: Kills two fools in a backwards place (12)

Spoiler

I have ASSASSINATES = kills, with "two fools" being "ass ass"—oh, I just figured it out. "In a" directly corresponds to the next three letters in the answer, and "set" can mean "place," so "backwards place" is "tes" at the end. I was trying to figure out what kind of a place "setani" was, and why the two fools were adjacent to it rather than in it as the clue said.

21 Down: Endlessly checking out old building in Las Vegas (6)

Spoiler

CASINO must be "building in Las Vegas," with "casin" being "endlessly checking out" ("casing" without its end), but I don't know what justifies the O. Is that just "old" made a little more endless than "casing" was?

Got both of these

Spoiler

also scratching my head about the O in casino

[morbeedo]

Scornful father back in a seedy bar (8)

Spoiler

D(eris)IVE. Father = SIRE, backwards = ERIS

[morbeedo]

20 Down (Good crew's activity on the rise (7))

Spoiler

GROWING: Good crew's activity on the rise: G (from good) + ROWING (crew's activity)

Spoiler

How does ‘good’ translate to a single G? Still trying to understand the rules

[morbeedo]

16 Down (A Florida athlete embraces one-time troublemaker (8))

Spoiler

AGITATOR: A Florida athlete embraces one-time troublemaker: A + GATOR surrounding I (for one) + T (for time)?

Spoiler

yeah I got this one after staring at it for awhile. I don’t get how some words just translate to a single letter, seemingly at random?

btw, seems like you’re pretty good at these

[morbeedo]

Painter acquires section of New York (12)

Spoiler

this was pretty obvious as I filled in the crosses: GAINS+BOROUGH

Judge taking possession of Italian bird (6)

Spoiler

Thinking RATE with something in the middle? It starts with R and ends with TE
Update: It’s RAT(it)E - didn’t know that word

[morbeedo]

Wasted young lady confined (8)

Spoiler

tricky one! MISS+PENT = misspent

[BobF]

State what we'd do if we lost a vowel? (8)

All I can say is it begins with M

Spoiler

I think it's Missouri. But why?

Oh. We would miss our I...

Miss Our I

[Magna]

I've got a couple of answers that I'm pretty sure of, but can't explain fully.

14 Across: Kills two fools in a backwards place (12)

Spoiler

I have ASSASSINATES = kills, with "two fools" being "ass ass"—oh, I just figured it out. "In a" directly corresponds to the next three letters in the answer, and "set" can mean "place," so "backwards place" is "tes" at the end. I was trying to figure out what kind of a place "setani" was, and why the two fools were adjacent to it rather than in it as the clue said.

21 Down: Endlessly checking out old building in Las Vegas (6)

Spoiler

CASINO must be "building in Las Vegas," with "casin" being "endlessly checking out" ("casing" without its end), but I don't know what justifies the O. Is that just "old" made a little more endless than "casing" was?

Got both of these

Spoiler

also scratching my head about the O in casino

Spoiler

"O" is an accepted abbreviation for "old" - for example, OT = Old Testament; ON = Old Norse; etc. So when the clue leads to casin + old, then "o" can substitute for "old".

[morbeedo]

Spoiler

"O" is an accepted abbreviation for "old" - for example, OT = Old Testament; ON = Old Norse; etc. So when the clue leads to casin + old, then "o" can substitute for "old".

Ok thanks. That makes a lot more sense than 'just because', which is how my friend explained it to me

[morbeedo]

Totally stumped!

“Fair” describes the French football team (6)

Spoiler

ELEVEN - even from fair, 11 players on a football team, but the rest?
UPDATE: French the=LE, so describes means surrounds? E(LE)VEN?

Reportedly helps people who are easily duped (7)

Spoiler

SUCKERS, but how?