| FRENCHROAST | *"Tu as le Q.I. d'une huitre" ("You have the I.Q. of an oyster") |
| IRAQI | The I.Q. of Mr Gershwin puzzled the Middle Easterner |
| OYSTER | From "bone, shell, tile", a "huitre" with a unique "merroir" and valves sometimes encasing a gem symbolic of endless possibilities; or, the greyish-pinkish beige colour of said shucks (6) |
| REID | "Criminal Minds" agent with an I.Q. of 187 |
| NORM | An I.Q. of about 100, e.g. |
| LISA | Simpson with an I.Q. of 159 |
| PEARL | Gem found on the inner surface of the shell of an oyster (5) |
| MOTHEROFPEARL | Hard iridescent substance that forms the inner layer of the shell of an oyster (6-2-5) |
| LOUISXV | Known as "le Bien-Aime" (the Beloved), French king who commissioned the construction of the Petit Trianon for his mistress Madame de Pompadour (5,1,1) |
| COUPERIN | Known as "le Grand", a composer and harpsichordist who served at the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV (8) |
| GENEVA | City in Switzerland, former H.Q. of the League of Nations (6) |
| AROACE | Identity that encompasses two meanings of the "A" in L.G.B.T.Q.I.A. |
| ARO | One meaning of the "A" in L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+, for short |
| RWANDA | Landlocked country of central Africa known as 'le pays des mille collines' (French: 'land of a thousand hills') (6) |
| ROUSSEAU | French post impressionist painter known as 'Le Douanier' because of his employment as a tax collector (8) |
| AIR | The "A" of A.Q.I. |
| GAY | The "G" of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ |
| QUEBECER | Part of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ gathering (half!) became Canadian (8) |
| IRRITABLE | Like the inside of an oyster? |
| DEVIGENRE | For many years this type of simple polyalphabtic cipher was thought to be impregnable and was known as le chiffre indechiffrable, literally "the unbreakable cipher." |
