Clue contest No 44
Sat 1 Aug 2026, set byHox
Introduction
It's August and the celestial bodies are currently hurtling around on such paths that come the 12th the moon will slide between the sun and earth to cast its shadow across a swathe of Europe, with totality in parts of Iceland and Spain. In advance of this please provide a cryptic clue for SOLAR ECLIPSE.
Submit your best cryptic clue for
SOLAR ECLIPSE
Results
# | Setter | Clue | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coverage of star's turbulent rise and collapse (5,7) Def. ('Coverage of star') = [RISE + COLLAPSE]* | 9 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 32 | ||
| 2 | Careless pilot almost crashes when it gets unusually dark (5,7) CARELESSPILO* | 2 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 17 | ||
| 3 | Celestial event that's all so precise in arrangement (5,7) Def: Celestial event. Anagram of (in arrangement) of ALL SO PRECISE | 3 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 16 | ||
| 4 | The Sun's cover story? (5,7) CD | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 5 | Temporary blockade of nuclear site (5,7) CD | 2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 14 | ||
| 6 | Lack of sun spoils cereal production (5,7) Anagram of (SPOILSCEREAL) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 7 | Riley scratching backside loses cap off sunblock (5,7) RILE[Y] scratching backside LOSES CAP* off(anagram indicator) sunblock(def) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 8 | Loose soil replaces sun screen? (5,7) Anagram (loose) SOILREPLACES | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 8 | ||
| 9 | The Sun covered lead story about special role (5,7) DEF: "The sun covered", lead [S]tory + *specialrole | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 7 | ||
| 10 | Very fat Democrat scorned by Trump in Sky show (5,7) SO+LAR[d] +/by ECLIPSE (to surpass/trump) | 1 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 7 | ||
| 11 | Inside parasol, are clips — essential for when sunlight is blocked (5,7) (para)SOL, ARE CLIPS — E(ssential) | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 7 | ||
| 12 | Hot body gets mooned (5,7) CD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 13 | Rock star’s Ray-Ban order (5,7) CD | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 14 | STRANGE SPECIAL LORES FROM HEAVENLY CONINCIDENCE (5,7) Def: Heavenly Coincidence; SPECIALLORES* (Strange) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 15 | Social lepers intermingling in rare alignment (5,7) (SOCIALLEPERS)* intermingling | Def = rare alignment | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 16 | Aspire to have cellos performing special arrangement of The Planets (5,7) Anagram (performing) of ASPIRE +(to have) CELLOS. Def: Special arrangement of The Planets. Relying on Chambers having planet as including "a satellite of a planet" and especially "a moving heavenly body (such as sun and moon)" | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 5 | ||
| 17 | Police lasers interfered with cosmic light show (5,7) cosmic light show/ POLICELASERS* (interfered with) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 5 | ||
| 18 | Event that may be total loss, real epic disaster (5,7) Def: event that may be total. (LOSS REAL EPIC)* | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 5 | ||
| 19 | Edward Elgar initially pens passages with ascending notes sung in heavenly movement (5,7) EE (Edward Elgar initially) pens in CLIPS (passages) with SO LAR (homophone of ascending notes so la). Definition - heavenly movement | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 20 | Brief shadowy affair's remarkable rise and collapse (5,7) Def = brief shadowy affair; anag of RISE + COLLAPSE | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 21 | Extremely revolting recipes all producing something you shouldn't look at directly! (5,7) SO + RECIPESALL*; you shouldn't look directly at a solar eclipse | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 22 | Touring India, Carlos peels badly - sunblock is required! (5,7) carlospeels* around I (India) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 23 | Claire slopes off casting a huge shadow. (5,7) Claire slopes (off - ang) and the eclipse casts a huge shadow. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 24 | Sun playing special role: one that can blind you (5,7) Def: one that can blind you / S (sun) + anagram (playing) of SPECIALROLE | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 25 | Cockney Spooner's Coke he drops when it gets dark (5,7) Spoonerism of "Cola 'e slips"; def = when it gets dark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 26 | Shoot up! Cops line and cuts drugs outside. Its a dark time (5,7) shoot up>SOAR cops(contains) line>L>>SO{L}AR+ cuts>CLIPS drugs E+E outside(con)>>E{CLIPS}E def its a dark time | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 27 | Alarm before player gets left with a blow 'where the Sun don't shine' (5,7) SOS before E (Bridge player) around (gets) L ARE (a) CLIP (blow) Def:... I would argue that the CG works here with "'the token of SOS before E' gets [...]" | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 28 | Dark time? Rise, collapse, revive! (5,7) Def =dark time, RISE+COLLAPSE angram | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 29 | G-A-D notes cut short at 135°, after which star re-emerges (5,7) SO-LA-RE + CLIP + SE | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 30 | Notes where to kiss in modern times for plunge into darkness (5,7) Notes = SO LA RE, where to kiss in modern times = LIPS in CE = C[LIPS]E, for plunge into darkness = definition | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 31 | God's rejected in exclusive Church, initially pastor lies about cover-up (5,7) SOL{RA}<E + (C)hurch + (PLIES)* -- God (RA) reversed in SOLE (exclusive) + first letter of Church + anagram of (P)astor + lies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 32 | Famously cheesy article having adverse effect on Sun's distribution (5,7) "Everyone knows the moon's made of cheese" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Are short videos in single time for seeing The Dark Side of the Moon? (5,7) Short videos = CLIPS, Single = SOLE, ARE CLIPS in SOLE = SOLAR ECLIPSE. A solar eclipse gives the unlit side of the moon pointing towards Earth. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 34 | "Sun block blew up oxygen-depleted aerosol cans"- online magazines (5,7) def: sun block, AER(o)SOL* AROUND (cans) E (online) CLIPS (magazine) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Star upstaged by Moon in A Midsummer Night's Dream? (5,7) CD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 36 | Luminary overshadowed by clip sequence, not entirely following notes (5,7) Def: Luminary overshadowed. = CLIP SEquence (not entirely) after SO LA RE which are musical notes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 37 | One close pearl up in the air covering Sun (5,7) ICLOSEPEARL* ("up in the air") around S | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 38 | Sunblock only conceals a concerning stroke symptom's source? (5,7) Def = Sunblock? SOL(A + RE + CLIP + S(ymptom))E. In full: only = SOLE, lit. A, concerning RE, stroke (as in hit) CLIP, symptom's source S | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 39 | Sign role as edited including splice - fifty to one making a comeback (5,7) Sign = definition ("omen"); role as edited = anagram ROLEAS -> SOLARE; including splice fifty to one making a comeback = including SPLICE with L (50) and I (1) swapped (SPILCE) and reversed -> ECLIPS; SOLAR + ECLIPS + E | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 40 | Upset about the French scowls in church causing darkness (5,7) SORE (upset) about LA (the French) LIPS (scowls) in CE (church) causing darkness = def. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 41 | Fumble loses replica in darkness (5,7) *LOSESREPLICA Def: darkness | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 42 | Cereal Spoils surprisingly, causing dark times (5,7) Anagram of Cereal Spoils, giving a period of darkness | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 43 | 'Sun' stopped, as a consequence, editing all recipes (5,7) SO + ALLRECIPES* | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 44 | Cap loser lies about blocking sunlight (5,7) CAP LOSER LIES anagram, "blocking sunlight" definition | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |