lovatts cryptic colossus 101

53a DISEASE
DIES (sadly, ie not the best, not quite right, mixed up - anagram) (on catching, ie +) A South Eastern = DIESASE when put the right way = DISEASE = Illness.

60a CARIES
50% of apothoCARIES = dental problems

61a PIVOTED
PI (private eye) + VOTED = took part in ballot =
PIVOTED = went into a spin

62a CREEPY
Ivy is a creeper

73a MISGIVINGS
Young lady (miss) stays outside (ie at the beginning and the end) giving = MIS+GIVING+S = nagging doubts

30d NIHILISTS
Outspoken (denotes sounds like) nile lists = NIHILISTS = those who think nothing has value.

54d SORDID
Mention (denotes sounds like) sword did = SORDID = dirty

55d ACCUSTOM
AC = current + CUSTOM = tradition = ACCUSTOM = get used to

56d PRESENTS
hosts show = PRESENTS = gifts

57d TOPICAL
Of interest at the moment = TOPICAL = but only for external application (as in "topical ointments")

58d SERENADE
sadly (again, not quite right, mixed up - anagram) erase end = SERENADE = love song

59d HYPNOSIS
Can leave you open to hypnotic suggestion

Hope that helps you Carole
No doubt Butterfly will confirm or correct any blues.
See you later!

Hi Carole and Lezzles,

Carole, all of the answers Lezzles has given you are what I have for my cryptic grid too.

Good luck in the competition ladies!
Merry Christmas to you too!
Regards, Butterfly

Dear Lezzles and Butterfly
A big thankyou for your help very much appreciated however i am still stuck on one more
68a lean towards minister(4)
any help greatly appreciated
Only 5 sleeps till santa comes I love Christmas

hi cazdaisy,

looks like "tend"

Happy Christmas!

Hi cazdaisy

I also have "tend" for 68a.

Lean = tend

Minister = tend See definition below.

Overview of verb minister
The verb minister has 2 senses (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (3) minister -- (attend to the wants and needs of others; ``I have to minister to my mother all the time'' )

Regards Dutchy

Hi Carole, Lmur and Dutchy.

Carole, I have the same answer as the gentlemen- tend.

Dutchy's break down of the clue explains it well.

Hope you all have a good day!
Talk to you soon.
Regards, Butterfly

Lmur,
I am sorry for referring to you as a 'gentleman' in my last post, if in fact you are a lady!

Please accept my sincere apology if I was incorrect!
Regards, Butterfly

No apology necessary, Butterfly.
I can confirm that i'm not a lady. There's many who don't consider me a "gentleman" either, but that's another story. :wink:

Just out of curiosity, do Australian Christmas cards show "wintry" scenes (snowy landscapes etc)? For that matter, does it ever actually snow Down Under?

Merry Christmas from the Emerald Isle!

Hi lmur

No doubt you'll get a reply from Butterfly in due course.

Although today is a nice warm summer day, currently 38 degrees Celsius, at other times of the year it can be quite the opposite! Just look at this site:
http://home.iprimus.com.au/ozthunder/frost.htm

Merry Christmas
Dutchy

Hi Dutchy,

Thanks for the link. Always interesting to hear how the other (hemi)half live!

I'm amused by your description of 38*C as "warm". In Ireland, such temps. would be a national calamity! Prolonged spells of 25 or over are described as a heatwave. (25* would be positively Arctic in your land, i'd imagine).

Merry Christmas.

Hi lmur

Just for info. 5days above 35 degrees is classed as a heatwave in Adelaide, other States are probably different, particular the ones with a Tropical Climate.

Our hottest day in Adelaide has been 46.1 degrees, however inland temperatures well into the forties are common place. Luckily we only get 1 to 3 days like that every summer.

Tomorrow we're dropping back to a mild 27 degrees! Just to rub it in, Christmas dinner will be outside on the back patio.

Cheers Dutchy.

Hi Lmur And Dutchy,

Lmur, I'm sure you are indeed a gentleman!

Lmur, several of the Christmas cards I posted out last week were of snow scenes, but they weren't Australian Christmas cards!

The link Dutchy provided gives you a good idea of the winter snowfall in the different states of Australia.

I have only ever been to the 'snow' once- at the Snowy mountains in N.S.W., one winter, several years ago. It was a magical experience!

I guess it seems strange to think that we get any snow here in Australia, especially as we are known mostly for our hot, dry climate.

We have a predicted temperature of 38 degrees Celsius for Christmas Eve (Saturday), in the Western suburbs of N.S.W.
Lmur, your 25* is sounding like pure heaven to me right now!

Hope you both have a Merry Christmas.
Talk to you again soon.
Take care. Warm regards, Butterfly

Hello lmur and Dutchy!

Thanks for that, Dutchy. I quite enjoyed that infomation about snow and frost. I have never encountered snow in Australia, (mainly based in Sydney) but for many years I lived in and around Canberra where the heavy frosts often made you feel you had been snowed in overnight.

As for Christmas cards, we get quite a mixture - nativity, Aust. bush, snow scenes, Santa, etc.

Hope you have a very happy one!

Hi lezzles

Thank you for your best wishes. Wish you also the very best for Christmas and 2006. Happy puzzling

Regards Dutchy

And I always thought that 38C was a nice summer day. It only gets a little bothersome on the golf course on a 45C 85% humidity day!

Hi Farkha

45 degrees on a golfcourse is for bunnies, by then I'm sitting in my air-conditioned bar at home consuming an "ice-cold" stubby of good Aussie beer!

Regards Dutchy

Envy you Dutchy, but then someone has to pay homage the golf gods come rain(light), shine(until the last rays of dusk) snow(thank God for the lack of it),heat(little sweat) and humidity(a little more sweat). Cheers

Well, I"m from Melbourne so anything above 35 for over an hour is a heatwave.....*laughs*

Hi lmur & farkha

Our TV news tonight showed you are having a bit of frost coupled with some snow, spare a thought for us "down under" where the temperature hit 43 degrees in good old Adelaide this afternoon.

A Happy New Year to you all.
Regards Dutchy.