Clue contest No 36
Mon 1 Dec 2025, set byTemple
Introduction
Being December, how about something associated with Christmas... let's go for CHIMNEY. Good luck and season's greetings to all.
Submit your best cryptic clue for
CHIMNEY
Results
# | Setter | Clue | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What’s Sooty and Sweep’s bread and butter? (7) DD. Chimney is a) sooty b) the source of sweep’s income | 8 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 36 | ||
| 2 | My niche is messy, it needs sweeping! (7) Def: it needs sweeping. Anagram (is messy) of MY NICHE | 4 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 20 | ||
| 3 | Mince and holiday wrapping prepared for Santa's big entrance (7) Anagram of MINCE+ H(olida)Y | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 15 | ||
| 4 | The man breaking a hundred hearts in Ernest Tidyman’s Shaft (7) HIM breaking C + [er]NE[st] [tid]Y[man] = shaft | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 15 | ||
| 5 | Smoking pot (7) Cryptic definition | 1 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 11 | ||
| 6 | Tailless ape with joint heard smoking pot on roof? (7) Chimp missing last letter + homophone of knee / DEF | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 7 | It sucks being endlessly smart with cash but lacking love (7) Def = it sucks; endlessly smart = CHI(C); cash lacking love = M(O)NEY | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | ||
| 8 | Swept entrance on Christmas Eve? (7) Cryptic definition | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 9 | "Catch 'im!" Neymar's defending opening for Claus (7) hidden in "catCH IM NEYmar" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 10 | Stack of clubs and hearts I'm longing to return (7) C + H + I'M + YEN <- | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | ||
| 11 | Bell ringing, The First Nowell? Yes, that's where Santa comes in (7) CHIME (bell) containing (ringing) N (the first) Nowell + Y (yes) = CHIMNEY (that's where Santa comes in) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 12 | Vent about that guy taking first in election in New York (7) C+HIM+N(Election)Y | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 13 | Sound of a bell around new year which goes through the roof? (7) CHIME (sound of bell) containing N (new) + Y (year) = def. (a CHIMNEY goes through the roof of a building) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 14 | Found my niche—I'm a smoker (7) [MY NICHE] anag. ("Found") | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 15 | Vent about that man, longing to return (7) "vent" C (about) HIM (that man) YEN (longing) reversed (to return) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 16 | One could be fuming over current Church of England hymn (7) Def. ('one could be fuming') = Anag. ('over') of (I + CE + HYMN)* | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 17 | That man wearing coat of crimson here today at last (7) HIM in C[rimso]N + ([her]E [merr]Y) &lit (if published on Christmas Day) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 18 | Force pierced nipple in my shaft (7) CHI (force) plus N-E (pierced nipple) in MY = shaft (definition). With apologies for it being a bit Viz. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 19 | Heavy smoker's pipe (7) DD, CD | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 20 | Caught that fellow longing to go back up secret entrance (7) def: secret entrance / C (caught) HIM (that fellow) NEY (<YEN, or longing, 'to go back up') | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 21 | Stack parcels for overnight delivery through here (7) D/CD | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 22 | Compiler is go-between for Chief Marshal needing ventilator. (7) I'm(=compiler is) in(=go-between for) ch{ief} Ney(=Marshal Ney). Def ventilator. | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 23 | That man's into flipping ¥100 for a stack (7) HIM goes inside YEN+C reversed | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 24 | Smoker is high with superior pot (7) CD | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | ||
| 25 | Smoker from China, though needing a cigarette badly, ultimately without money (7) "Smoker" def, from: CHIN(-A) _E _Y around M | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 26 | Puff piece in ‘Ideal Home’? (7) Cryptic Definition | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 27 | Smoking pot, discombobulated as mighty reticence to give up funny cigarettes (7) Smoking pot: definition Anagram (discombobulated) of ASMIGHTYRETICENCE Subtracting (to give up) CIGARETTES (in a "funny" order | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 28 | Stack of chips and cash old exhausted players abandoned (7) def Stack; CHIPS + MONEY - O (old) & P[layer]S | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | ||
| 29 | Father Christmas starts at the top, then will go down (7) Sort of an &lit - C{hristmas at the top} + HIM (Father, in religious terms) + NEY (reversal of yen (will), in a down clue at least) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
| 30 | Vent about the man longing to come over (7) Def. = 'vent'. C HIM YEN<- = NEY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 31 | Channel jingle captures New Year (7) def : Channel jingle>CHIME captures(contains) New>n +Year>y chim{n}e+y | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 32 | Airman regularly featured in revolutionary year, making way for present? (7) (A)I(R)M(A)N in CHE + Y; def = "way for present" (i.e. a present from Santa, who enters thus) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 33 | Relish he got for shed stack (7) Chutney, exchange hut (shed) for him (he) = Stack (chimney) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 34 | Less quiet monkey backs craving for smoker. (7) Chimp minus the letter P followed by a backward yen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 35 | Smoker’s agreement stopped briefly on third of January and finished before its end (7) CHIM{N}E+Y | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 36 | Malfunctioning machinery, lacking a bit of repair, issues fumes (7) M(a)CHINE(r)Y* (malfunctioning) = CHIMNEY (issues fumes) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 37 | Gave up smoking years ago (7) Cryptic def referring to clean air legislation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 38 | After church, I'm wanting to go back to smoke pipe. (7) after CH (church) + IM + NEY (wanting (YEN) to go back) to def. (smoke pipe) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 39 | Upper raspatory system of Greek character with unordinary cash? (7) def; Upper raspatory system| CHI (greek character) M(-o)NEY (un Ordinary cash) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 40 | Pickle: current spymaster, getting off duty, discovered supplying pot (7) CHUTNEY (“pickle”), with IM (“current spymaster”), replacing UT (duty, discovered). def= "pot" | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |