Clue contest No 42
Mon 1 Jun 2026, set byTemple
Introduction
For June, let's go for something nice and summery. The word for this month is ICE CREAM. Best of luck to all.
Submit your best cryptic clue for
ICE CREAM
Results
# | Setter | Clue | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crumble came with rice pudding (3,5) (CAME + RICE)* Anagrind 'crumble' (verb, imperative), definition 'pudding' (in its sense as 'dessert') | 6 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 31 | ||
| 2 | "Sweet Caroline"'s No1 in eastern Crimea, surprisingly (3,5) sweet = definition, c (Caroline's No1) inside eastern Crimea* | 4 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 3 | Ground mace with rice pudding (3,5) *MACERICE. Def pudding as in dessert. Rice pudding usually contains nutmeg or ground mace. | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 4 | Treat for weird mice holding Engliah acre, destroyed (3,5) (MICE)* contains E+(ACRE)* | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 5 | 99? That is around 100 at best (3,5) 99 = Def by example. IE (that is) around C (100), best as synonym for cream | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | ||
| 6 | Naked, sick secret game: it calls for licking (3,5) (s)IC(k) (s)ECRE(t) (g)AM(e) / def = it calls for licking | 2 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 11 | ||
| 7 | Stick food in freezer (3,5) Cryptic definition: and if a cryptic definition needs to be explained, it hasn't worked :) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 8 | Scotch on the rocks for dessert? (3,5) CREAM (scotch, as in to kill) after ICE (the rocks) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 9 | It's (crucially) extremely cold, rich, extravagant and moreish, and that's just for starters (3,5) Initials of It's Crucially Extremely Cold Rich Extravagant And Moreish, &lit | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | ||
| 10 | Wild mice race for treat (3,5) anagram ('wild') MICE RACE. Def.: treat | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 11 | One religious lesson in new Mecca provides cold comfort? (3,5) Cryptic def; I + RE in *MECCA | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 12 | Kill cam picks up on Magnum? (3,5) ICE + CAM around RE def = Magnum? (def by example) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 13 | Mice race around final course (3,5) MICERACE + anagram indicator (around) = Definition (final course) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 14 | Naked American confused about Church sundae (3,5) Naked American (-A)MERICA(-N) confused (anag.) about church (CE) = sundae | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 15 | A year after virgin birth? 100? A lot? 99 perhaps? (3,5) I CE + C + REAM | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 16 | Dessert I am eating now without a care (3,5) Def. Dessert. I (CE+C[a]RE) AM; container (eating), Common Era (now), deletion (without a) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 17 | That is biting cold stuff featuring finishing touch of flake? (3,5) That is = IE; cold = C; stuff = CRAM; finishing touch of flake = E; def = &lit | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 18 | Treat US government agency elite (3,5) US government agency = ICE Elite = cream | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 19 | Soft drink company that gets floated? (3,5) Cryptic definition | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 20 | Flock of Hickory Dickory Dock's clock toppers on clock's top on a drop off the top got knickerbocker glory? (3,5) Works best imagined as a down clue; "Hickory Dickory Dock's clock topper" is a mouse (nursery rhyme); a flock would be MICE. Placed on "clock's top" C and RE (on) A gives MICECREA. "Drop off the top" here indicates moving the start to the end, giving ICE CREAM, which can come in the form of a knickerbocker glory. | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 21 | Discovered pics ahead of city paper that might be scooped? (3,5) def = that might be scooped | (p)IC(s) + EC + REAM | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 22 | Whack, whop, whip? (3,5) Whack - (ICE), whop (CREAM, as is defeat handily, whip? - definition | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 23 | Rampaging cricket team skipping third slice of cake and teas, it’s said, for cold treat (3,5) Definition: cold treat | Sub Anagram (rampaging) of CRICKET TEAM without (skipping) third letter of caKe and TT (homophone of teas, it’s said) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 24 | Colombian leader and drug don wrecking America without border walls? (3,5) Colombian leader = C. Drug = E. Anagram of (wrecking) America without border = AMERIC(a) gives ICREAM. C and E don ICREAM = ICE CREAM. Walls? = ICE CREAM (DbE, Walls is an ice cream brand). | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | ||
| 25 | One's pick if holding empty cone (3,5) I(C[on]E)CREAM, &lit | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 26 | Where hundreds and thousands are often gathered for dessert? (3,5) CD(ish) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 27 | It's a treat to keep jam sandwiches sweet in the centre! (3,5) Def: It's a treat --- ICE (to keep) CRAM (jam) is around (sandwiches) [sw]E[et] | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 28 | Centre of wheel snagged in misshapen ceramic cone (3,5) *CERAMIC with (wh)E(el). Def: cone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 29 | In case of emergency, prime Magnum? (3,5) ICE (in case of emergency - see Chambers) CREAM (prime), DBE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 30 | Venus Williams’s put away about to break tennis champ briefly back in 99? (3,5) ICE (US to put away/kill) + RE breaking MAC (McEnroe briefly) < = 99? McEnroe returned from retirement (briefly) in 1999 to play mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Steffi Graf, facing (American) Venus Williams and partner in the quarters. For surface, a put away = a point-ending (tennis) shot. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 31 | This French character rarely explains hints. I am eating a treat from a musical van. (3,5) This in French is CE. Hints (first letters) of Character Rarely Explains. surrounded (eating) by I AM. Def = a treat from a musical van | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | ||
| 32 | Setter's admitting barmy recce could cause a headache (3,5) I AM (setter is) containing (RECCE)*. Def = could cause a headache | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 33 | Copyright crime resolved over cover of Elsa’s Frozen hit? (3,5) Def: Frozen hit? Wordplay: (C+CRIME)* containing E_A (‘s = link to def via [i]s) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 34 | E! Ceramic broken? Sounds noisy. (3,5) Anagram of e! Ceramic. Homophone of I scream. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 35 | Regulars in kitchen given pick of the bunch for dessert (3,5) alternating letters of kitchen/ICE CREAM/pick of the bunch | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 36 | Overpower modern American Gestapo, ordering changes? Cool stuff! (3,5) Definition: Cool stuff. (CREAM {Overpower} ICE {modern American Gestapo}) swapped {..., ordering changes}. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 37 | A commune turned out to be bursting with crime? It's enough to give you a headache! (3,5) (A + C[OMMUN]E + CRIME)*; def refers to "ice cream headaches" or "brainfreeze" | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 38 | I scream obstreperously for it (3,5) homophone &lit | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 39 | Cold comfort from diamonds and pearls? (3,5) Cold comfort(def) from diamonds ICE and pearls(the best of something)CREAM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 40 | Good laugh after viewer mentioned dessert (3,5) homophones I (eye/viewer) CE CREAM (scream/good laugh) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 41 | Regard riot on podcast like a Neapolitan? (3,5) Regard (eye - as in to view) riot (scream) sounds like (on podcast) a Neapolitan (definition by example). "Eye scream/ice cream". A bit of an old chestnut, perhaps. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Screwball kept in the back of a van? (3,5) Cryptic definition (by example): a Screwball is (was?) a type of ice cream commonly sold from ice cream vans | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 43 | Shattered ceramic laced with drug for dessert (3,5) Anagram of CERAMIC containing (laced with) E (drug, ecstacy) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 44 | Infants initially caterwaul loudly for treat (3,5) Sounds like of I + scream. A nod to the novelty song. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 45 | Cone treat - "Creme cocaine"! Drops cone treat! (3,5) Def: cone treat. CREME(co)CAI(ne)* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 46 | One hundred leading Europeans mix dessert (3,5) I(one) C(hundred) + E(uropeans) + CREAM(mix) = dessert (definition) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 47 | Wipe out Ginger Baker and their brethren perhaps? (3,5) Ginger Baker and brethren is CREAM, and to wipe them out would be to ICE them. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 48 | America endlessly messed up and divided about religious invasion, might get licked - a just dessert? (3,5) Def: might get licked; Anagram (‘messed up’) of AMERIC[a] (‘America endlessly’) ‘divided about’ (containing) CE (‘religious invasion’), with a pun on ‘just dessert’/'just deserts' | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 49 | US agency to whip contents of tub (3,5) US agency (I.C.E) to whip (cream) contents of tub (ice cream) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 50 | Chief Executive flipped after initial costs involved in one pad of paper; “That used to cost 99p!” (3,5) Def = That used to cost 99p, I REAM contains C+EC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 51 | West famously caught in playground with one knocked back ‘knickerbocker glory’ (3,5) DBE ‘knickerbocker glory’. MAE (West famously)+ R-C-EC (caught in playground)+I all reversed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 52 | I initially cover empty cones with bits of rainbow, exhilaration, and magic (3,5) &lit / I + CEC (initially Cover Empty Cones) + REAM (bits of Rainbow Exhilaration And Magic) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |