A Cryptic Acrostic from Minch Trivia Quiz

Answer: emancipate

The word tangled is a hint that this is an anagram, as the letters of the answer have been tangled into the wrong order. The image of Abraham Lincoln, known as The Great Emancipator, points to changing the letters of CINEMA TAPE to produce EMANCIPATE, which matches the other part of the clue. To emancipate someone or something means to free them.

For the rest of the questions, we can use this answer to provide the starting letter of the answer.

Answer: minute

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with M.

With no other obvious hints, we can look to see if this is a homograph - two words that look the same but have different meanings. The word MINUTE can indeed mean very small (when pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, and a long u) or it can describe a short time interval (when pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable, and a short u). The image of a cooking timer, which is often used to measure time intervals of a few minutes, was intended to suggest the second word.

Answer: aroma

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with A.

The words come from suggest that this is a hidden word question, so the letters of the answer can be found, in order, within the clue. The image of someone holding their nose, and the word smell at the start, confirm that the hidden word is aroma: tARO MAybe, although the word aroma is more usually used to describe a pleasant olfactory sensation.

Answer: notes

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with N.

The word differently suggests another anagram, so we need to find five letters (as given in the hint) which can be rearranged to produce a word meaning observed. The image shows some musical NOTES, and that word can be formed by rearranging the letters in the word stone.

Answer: cowed

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with C.

References to a number always suggest that a Roman numeral will be one of the letters in the answer. In this case, a hundred gives C. The rest of the clue refers to being in debt, or owing, but in the past tense, which could be owed. Putting them together, we are looking for a word that is a synonym of intimidated. The image of a cow confirms that C + owed = COWED will produce the correct answer.

Answer: implied

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with I.

This looks as if we have definitions of two small words that can be put together to make a large word, which is also defined. A little devil is an IMP in many crossword clues; one who told untruths LIED; putting them together we get IMPLIED, which is a synonym of insinuated.

The image may not have been much use to non-mathematicians. The two circles are a Venn diagram showing that anything which is in the purple circle marked A is also inside the blue circle marked B, but part of B is outside of A. If we are using set terminology, we say that A is a subset of B. If we use the language of logic, we say that A implies B, which is shown as A -> B, written at the top of the diagram.

Answer: poet

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with P.

The word find suggests a hidden word, so we need to find a four-letter synonym of bard. It is there in Edgar Allan POE Tale - poet. The images are of William Shakespeare, known as the Bard of Avon, famed both as a playwright and as the author of over 150 poems in the form of sonnets.

Answer: alter

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with A.

The word change indicates another anagram, so the five letters of alert need to be used to create the answer. Unusually, the word change is also a definition of the answer - it serves two functions in the clue. The image of an altar was intended to guide you towards the answer, ALTER.

Answer: traipse

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with T.

The word drunken suggests an anagram, and pirates has the requisite seven letters, so we want to rearrange those letters to form a word that means to walk wearily. To TRAIPSE is to undertake a lengthy or tiring journey on foot, as in traipsing all over the city to find the right gift for my daughter's birthday.

Answer: ewe

From the first question, we know that this answer must start with E.

The words we hear indicate that the clue involves homonyms - two words which are pronounced the same, but may be spelled differently, and which have different meanings. In this case, another word for a female sheep is ewe, and a yew tree is an evergreen tree which is indeed toxic to sheep (and others, including people). Since the 'we hear' is nearer the yew than the ewe, we can conclude that yew is the homonym, and EWE is the answer.