Clue contest No 31
Tue 1 Jul 2025, set byEssBee
Introduction
I know for most of you it’s summer, but here in Australia it’s WINTER.
Please write a standard cryptic clue and good luck!
Submit your best cryptic clue for
WINTER
Results
# | Setter | Clue | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Footballer's good to go for start of the season (6) WIN(G->T)ER, with Good->T(he) | ”season" | 6 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 36 | ||
| 2 | Write excitedly about new season (6) WRITE anagram (excitedly) going around N = Def. | 4 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 20 | ||
| 3 | Time beset by horribly frequent spells of ice or snow? (6) T~ beset by *I[c]E[o]R[s]N[o]W | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 17 | ||
| 4 | What follows fall of Starmer? Farage, triumphant, finally rising to victory (6) ([starme]R [farag]E [triumphan]T)< after ('to') WIN. Def. 'what follows fall'. (Down clue due to 'rising' as reversal indicator) | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 15 | ||
| 5 | One season with team in Milan (6) Def: one season; W + INTER (Milan football team) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 12 | ||
| 6 | Season won by Bury (6) Definition = 'season'. W ('won', the Korean currency) + INTER ('bury') | 1 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 11 | ||
| 7 | Shiver topless in France this time of year (6) Def: semi&lit this time of year // sHIVER in France = winter | 2 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 10 | ||
| 8 | Some snow in term like this? (6) Hidden in snoW IN TERm | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 9 | ||
| 9 | Window in Terra's passage? (6) hidden &lit. (The "?" suggests def is poetic for "interval in Earth's orbit") | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 10 | Season with trimmed minty herb (6) Season = def; W[ith] + [m]INT[y] [h]ER[b] (trimmed) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 11 | Wife that is devouring books right when the nights get longer (6) Def: When the nights get longer. W(ife) + IE devouring NT (books) + R(ight) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 5 | ||
| 12 | Westbury's centre needs a space in time for ice skating? (6) Lift and separate (centre needs a space) - W (West) + INTER (bury) | Def = time for ice skating? | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 13 | Season of decline not hot around the start of November (6) WITHER minus H around N(ovember). | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 14 | Knitwear lacking character, not a woolly for this season (6) Anag. of NITWER (missing K/character and a) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 15 | Cheerless time period of Will's tale? (6) dd. A cheerless time is a winter, and second 'period of Will's tale' is a reference to the Shakespeare play | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 16 | Season wife then lay down to rest (6) W + INTER “season” | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 17 | Period largely following hot air's final departure? (6) &lit. TER{m} (Period largely) after (following) WIN{d} (hot air - i.e. empty talk - with final letter departing) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 18 | We train miserably when one's left out in the cold (6) Anagram (miserably) of WE TRaIN, when one's (A) left out. Def = the cold. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | ||
| 19 | Dark days when the women's institute misplace rent (6) WI + (RENT)* = Dark days | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 20 | Season’s best shot removing lead from Novak and securing opening for Taylor (6) Def = season; best shot = WINNER; removing lead from Novak = N; securing opening for Taylor = T | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 21 | Scarecrow in terylene trousers which has icy air (6) Hidden; def = which has icy air | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 22 | Friend discovered when Tintin starts off - it’s Snowy (6) {(-f)RIEN(-d) +W(-hen) + T(-intin)}* ; def - it’s snowy | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 23 | A quarter of women with it support shortening runs (6) def [of] W + IN + TE(e) + R | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 24 | Net Zero essentially describes temperature when it's cold? (6) WIN (z)ER(o) contains T | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 25 | Lay to rest on third of bowel movements by Vivaldi (6) INTER (lay to rest) after (on) W (third of bowel) / def = “movements by Vivaldi” | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 26 | Who's first to bury Johnny? Edgar? (6) W(ho) + INTER; def'n: Johnny? Edgar? (The musical Winter brothers) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 27 | Could be seen regularly throughout Argentina, if we returned? (6) &lit. Hidden in reversed, regular letters of "Argentina, if we" | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 28 | When in north take extra rations because it is cold initially (6) Initial letters of the first six words. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 29 | They’re occasionally pursuing success after a fall (6) Def: after a fall. Alternate letters (occasionally) of ThEyRe after (pursuing) success (WIN) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 30 | Garbled wire about books that may describe Wonderland (6) WIRE* about NT; def: "That may describe Wonderland" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 31 | Women concerned with their periodically frigid days (6) W (women) + IN (concerned with) + TER (alternating letters of 'their') | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 32 | Best half of bitter after Georgia's fall (6) WIN (best) + TER (half of bitter) definition = after Georgia's(US) fall | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Missing "Focus" written off for the final quarter (6) Def = the final quarter, Deleting the middle letter of WRItTEN* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 34 | After fall, smashed World Record time in ecstasy (6) After fall = definition, smashed = anagram indicator, WR t in e = anagram fodder | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 35 | From wampyre's crown, entomb the season of darkness (6) "Wampyre's crown" = W, "entomb" = INTER, Def: "the season of darkness" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 36 | When we play football with Bury (6) WINTER (when we play football) = W (with) + INTER (bury) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Group of women books caterers in the centre for Edgar? (6) Group of women (WI) + books (NT) + cat(ER)ers = WINTER (Edgar as dbe, of the Edgar Winter Group, well known for their hits Free Ride and Frankenstein in particular). | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Wine keeps the reindeer’s nose fresh this time of year (6) WIN(T)E + R(eindeer, nose). Def, fresh… (cold) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 39 | In extreme cold extreme WiFi goes up, right, about tortoise-head European (6) Winter = extreme cold, extreme WiFi = the ends of WiFi = wi, up = North, right = r, about t = head of tortoise and European = E | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 40 | Complain on the phone about temperature at end of Summer's cold spell (6) complain>whine on the phone(hom)>~WINE about(con) temperature>T at(+) end of Summer>R def cold spell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 41 | Rival leaves conversation after cycling for a year (6) VIE(rival) subtracted from{leaves} cycling letters of INTERVIEW(conversation) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Cold time, winery almost incorporated a bit of taste (6) Def=Cold time// WINER(y) (almost) AROUND (incorporated) T (a bit of taste)= Winter | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 43 | When icy nights tarry equinox reveals beginnings of a regular spell (6) Initial letters (*beginnings) of When Icy Nights Tarry Equinox Reveals = WINTER = a regular spell (definition) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |