The I 871 Saturday November 23Rd 2013

[DestressTermly]

Hi Hope I can get some help with some answers in this crossword. I know what the answers are, but what I hope people can help with is the explanation of how the cryptic clues builds up to the answers.

4 & 19. Here six horizontal couples may be seen to hold back in congress.

The answer is HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA but I'm blowed if I can see why.

6. Party details concerned with separating sides

The answer is LABOUR. Labour is the party and I see L & R at the ends presumably this is the seperating sides bit as in left and Right. But how is ABOU referenced in the clue? Or am I off track?

I saw a brief explantion inote thread which said L ABOU(T) R but I didn't understand that. What does (T) mean, and how is that referenced in the clue?

22. Item featured in Indian Cookery Book? Old one, it's bound to be.

I have SAMOSA, which I guess would indeed be an item in an indian cookery book. Old one I guess is Amos, what where are the first and last letters (SA) coming from?

Any help appreciated

[factor-fiction]

AS backwards?

[shoota]

About de-tailed (last letter chopped off) is abou

[kettledrum]

6. About = concerned with. If you remove the last letter - the T - it can be said to be de-tailed, so abou.

[bibblebub]

22) old one [referring to 'book] = AMOS, a book of the Old Testament

it = SA - sex appeal, 'it' is another older word for that, as in 'the it girl'

'bound' means put the latter outside of the former = S amos A

[kettledrum]

22. 'It' = sex appeal - SA

[bibblebub]

6) a convention on AB is that round brackets mean remove the letters contained

[bibblebub]

4&19) does "six horizontal couples" refer to pairs of across answers in the grid? (without the crossword it's impossible to know)

[Mamyalynne]

Courtesy of

Deslyxic on another site

The six horizontal couples refer to the six lines of across clues above and below 19A "A hidden agenda":

CopenhAGEN DAte
BarrAGE NDAkota
GrappA GENDArme
ScrAG-END Adagio
MutAGEN DAnseur
ShAG ENDAngered

[DestressTermly]

Thank you all for your help.

Details, as in de-tail meaning the last letter I understand now. Very clever. I shall look out for that in futire.

Thank you for the explanation about the hidden word "agenda" throughout the clues. Very cunning and I would never have spotted that. Literally then agenda is hidden.

SA for sex appeal as a synonym for it, I now see as well.

Thank you all for your help.

[kettledrum]

Glad to be able to help.

[Mamyalynne]

The 'Agenda'one was very crafty yes, and as I say I can take no credit for it at all.

Always good to learn new ways to look at things too.