Clue contest No 34
Wed 1 Oct 2025, set byDMC
Introduction
It’s Harvest Festival time so this month’s word is HARVEST. Good luck everyone!
Submit your best cryptic clue for
HARVEST
Results
# | Setter | Clue | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crop tops from Harrods aren’t raunchy underwear (7) Def crop; first letters H A R + VEST | 1 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 2 | Yield down by 99% essentially, most perplexing (7) "Yield" | D (500) reduced by 99% to V (5) in the middle of HAR(D)EST | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 13 | ||
| 3 | Earth's spoils, including spot of veg? (7) Anag of EARTHS + V; &lit | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 12 | ||
| 4 | Remove brown underwear after voiding bowels in kecks (7) [C]HAR+VEST = remove (as per Chambers). Bowels = innermost part of anything (Chambers). Apologies. | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 11 | ||
| 5 | Jiggle her vast fruits (7) Jiggle* HER VAST fruits (definition) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 | ||
| 6 | At end of the growing season, busy earthmovers deliver this and more (7) Compound (or subtraction?) anagram (busy) EARTHMOVERS* = HARVEST MORE; all-in-one clue as def | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 11 | ||
| 7 | Crop top crowned by uncovered piercing (7) Down clue. VEST(top) below (s)HAR(p) (uncovered piercing). Def crop | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 8 | Skinless shark perplexed vet's gathering (7) Skinless s(HAR)k + anagram vets (VEST) = Def. | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 9 | Gather and save bits of the ripest, heartiest nuts (7) Def = "gather"; (SAVE + first letters of "the ripest, heartiest")* | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 10 | Gathering of heads vs heart descends into chaos (7) def (gathering of (grain) heads) = VSHEART* (descends into chaos) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 11 | Return fiery aftershaves. NOT SAFE! (7) Def = Return, AFTERSHAVES* - safe | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | ||
| 12 | H.R. stave off cull (7) HRSTAVE (fodder) off (anagrind) cull (def) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 13 | Against squeezing out core of most unyielding fruits (7) V replacing the middle letter of HAR(d)EST = Definition | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 14 | Young singer's "vintage" record collection? (7) Two definitions: 1972 Neil Young album & collection | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 15 | Thraves, possibly? (7) Anagram of THRAVES, indicator "possibly"., & lit. Thraves are agricultural (and Scottish/northern English word for)units of cut grain, oats, wheat, or peas, or the corresponding straw etc bundled in sheaves.. | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 16 | Gather fruit? (7) DD | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 17 | Hear cooking preserves very good man's produce (7) Anagram (cooking) of HEAR containing (preserves, in sense keeps/retains) V(ery) + ST (good man) = produce | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 18 | In broken earths plant five fruits (7) Put V into anagram of earths. Fruits is the definition | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 19 | Gather that naked king put on underwear (7) defintion - gather. tHAt + R on VEST (as a down entry) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 20 | Make an issue of bottomless underwear revealing a moon (7) Make an issue of (bottomless) = HAR(p). Underwear = VEST ... (revealing) = a moon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 21 | Grim reaper? (7) CD - Reference to 'Grim' as a famous crop type in the 1800s! | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 22 | Vet has to undertake, in essence, grim reaper's work (7) (VETHAS + ('to') [unde]R[take])* (Anagrind: 'grim', Def.: 'reaper's work') | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 23 | Starve to death after going without, essentially (7) &lit (STARVE)* - to death - after witHout (essentially) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 24 | He cropped Strava runs and combined output (7) HE+STRAV(a)* (runs), 'output that has been combined' | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 25 | The product of turning earth with the tops of spades - vegetables? (7) (EARTHS[pades]V[egetables])*turning / &lit | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 26 | Gather in underwear after no end to suffering (7) def gather in underwear>VEST after(jux) no end to(end del) suffering>HAR[m] | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 27 | Could be Weinstein detailed sources of sex tape collection (7) HARVE{y} (detailed) + first letters S{ex}T{ape} DEF: collection | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 28 | Run into own street for gathering (7) Def: gathering. R (Run) in HAVE (own) + ST (street) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 29 | Gather the rich mingle with right-wingers (7) Def: Gather. HA(R)VES(T) - ‘HAVES’ (the rich) x R[igh]T | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 30 | Crop a crop? (7) Cryptic definition. To cut a cultivated plant. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 31 | Taking in undershirt after originally hinting at rotundness (7) VEST after H A R, definition "Taking in" | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 32 | Hoe and reap valuable earlier sown turnip tops (7) First letters &lit | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 33 | As a hybrid, the variety succeeded - producing this! (7) Anag. ('as a hybrid') of THE + VAR ('variety') + S ('succeeded') = defn. ('this'). Semi &littish | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 34 | Gathering in hotel accepted others around five (7) Def is Gathering. H, A, R{V}EST | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Bring in Heidi initially to restrict funding of cycling (7) Def: bring in. H(eidi) + STARVE (to restrict funding of) -> ARVEST (cycling) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 36 | Return Harry's half removed underwear (7) Def. RETURN = Harry's half removed (HAR) + Underwear (VEST) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Take and possess stone without right (7) HAVE + ST outside R; def is take (as in amount taken in) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Bounty hunter’s first rifle pressed against Kevlar (7) “bounty” / H (hunter’s first) + AR (rifle) next to (pressed against) VEST (Kevlar) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 39 | Reap negative consequences shortly over getting naked by street (7) HARVEST ("Reap") = HAR(m) [negative consequences shortly] + (o)VE(r) [over getting naked] + ST [street] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 40 | Get about Queen Street’s gathering (7) HA(R)VE + ST | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 41 | High camper inside eats bananas and gathered others? (7) H + RV in *EATS extended def = gathered others? | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Take talk takeaways? (7) Take = bounty ; talk takeways = DBE for knowledge gained | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 43 | A perv gathers bananas, but not rotten grapefruit (7) Anagram (bananas) of APERVGATHERS but not GRAPE (not in that order, hence "rotten", with lift & seperate definition- fruit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |