A puzzle celebrating the 6oth anniversary of an event that took place on 6 May. The key clues are 1 across and 17 across, 19 down. Besides the clues that reference 17, 19, I can’t find, or, more likely, I’ve missed, any other references to the event. Thanks to Gaff. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Avoiding action first under 17,19 by rail, we hear (7,1,4)
RUNNING A MILE :
Double Defn: 1: The flight response in contrast to fight; and 2nd: Feat achieved under 4 minutes(answer to 17 across, 19 down) by Roger homophone of(we hear) “banister”(a rail). Bannister was the first man to do it on this day in 1954.
10 Sailor pipes spirits away (7)
ABDUCTS : AB(abbrev. for an able-bodied seaman;a sailor) + DUCTS(pipes for liquid flow, eg. tear ducts).
11 Chewed on red cheese dish (7)
RAREBIT : BIT(chewed) placed after(on, in an across clue) RARE(red;almost raw, eg. steak).
12 Lengthy delivery which may result in one walking out (6)
YORKER : Cryptic defn: In cricket, a ball delivered at sufficient length intended to bounce close to the batsman’s feet. It is difficult to play, and may result in the batsman being bowled out and having to walk back to the pavilion.
13 Adjournment makes both sides deafer (8)
DEFERRAL : Anagram of(makes) [R,L(abbrevs. for “right” and “left”;both sides) + DEAFER].
15 Ghost maybe of many life sentences (10)
BIOGRAPHER : Cryptic defn: One who may ghostwrite the biography;sentences about the life, of someone else, with the latter or even somebody else being credited as the author.
17,19 Report somewhat variform in its time (4,7)
FOUR MINUTES : Homophone of(Report) hidden in(somewhat …) “variform in its“.
18 Roots around in dismay (4)
YAMS : Reversal of(around) hidden in(in) “dismay “.
20 Can critter overhaul record breaking winger? (6,4)
ARCTIC TERN : Anagram of(… overhaul) CAN CRITTER.
Answer: The bird;winger credited with the record for the longest migratory distance in the animal kingdom.
24 Depend on result of wasted time (8)
HANGOVER : HANG OVER, as in “The lines of questioning depend on the suspect’s statements”. Although, the synonymous phrase, I think, is “hang on” rather than “hang over”, but I may be wrong.
Answer: Result of an evening (or any time, for that matter) spent highly intoxicated;wasted.
25 Eventually or from time to time (3,3)
ONE DAY : Double defn: 1st: As in “one day, they’ll see the light”, and 2nd: I’m not sure of this: I think it refers to an unspecified time, though this sense is close to that of the 1st defn.
27 Forget it‘s how linesmen treat illegal catch (3,2,2)
LET IT GO : Double defn: 2nd: What anglers;linesmen have to do if they catch fish that is illegal to keep.
28 See 3
29 8’s pursuit of lover wasted openheart surgery (Madonna had 17,19) (4,3,5)
SAVE THE WORLD : Anagram of(… surgery) [LOVER WASTED + 1st letter of(open…) “heart“]. And a song hit by the non-Biblical Madonna – “4 minutes(answer to 17 across, 19 down)To ….”.
Defn: What Mary’s boy child(answer to 8 down) aka Jesus Christ set out to do.
Down
2 Stand where there are no traffic lights (7)
UNDERGO : Cryptic defn: There, literally, are no more lights under the green one for “go”, which is the lowest of the 3 lights.
Answer: To experience;to bear, as in “I won’t stand nonsense from you”.
3,28 Notice of strike in 17,19 (7,7)
NUCLEAR WARNING : Cryptic defn: During the Cold War, the system in the UK of warning the population of a nuclear attack was the 4-minute warning, named after the approximate time between confirmation of an attack from the Soviet Union and the impact of the missiles.
4 Retreat from everyone’s thoughts (4)
NEST : Hidden in(from) “everyone’s thoughts “.
5 Compromises in meat and greens dispute (10)
AGREEMENTS : Anagram of(… dispute) [MEAT plus(and) GREENS].
6 King signals early return to country (6)
ISRAEL : Reversal of(… return) [LEAR(king in Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name) + 1st two letters of(… early) “signals ” ].
7 Measure pub spirit with restraint (7)
EMBARGO : EM(a measure of width in print) + BAR(a pub) + GO(spirit;drive;energy).
8 Madonna’s son that Harry’s hit (first one over 17,19) (5,3,5)
MARY’S BOY CHILD : MARY(the Madonna in the Bible)‘S BOY CHILD(son).
Answer: Harry Belafonte’s hit song, the first #1 in Britain to have a playing time of more than 4 minutes(answer to 17 across, 9 down).
9 Urgently sling out perfect breakfast made in 17,19 (5-5,3)
STILL-RUNNY EGG : Anagram of(… out) URGENTLY SLING.
Defn: … in boiling water – perhaps perfect for some.
14 Left car in direction detailed on the canvas (7,3)
SPARKED OUT : PARKED(left car in a, well, parking space) containing(in) “south”(a compass direction) minus its last letter(de-tailed).
Defn. and Answer: To be knocked unconscious.
16 Wind flop up (3)
GAS : Reversal of(… up, in a down clue) SAG(to flop;to be limp).
Defn: … expelled from the stomach.
17 Overweight from regular feasts (3)
FAT : 1st, 2nd, and 3rd letters of(regular) “feasts “.
19 See 17 across
21 Energetically heads to celebration of City follower of note (3,4)
CON BRIO : 1st letters, respectively, of(heads to) “celebration of ” + [ RIO(de Janeiro, the Brazilian city) placed below(follower of, in a down clue) NB(abbrev. for “nota bene”, Latin for “note well”;take note) ].
Answer: Musical direction to play with energy;vigorously.
22 Object to factory a bit (7)
ENDMILL : END(an object;a target) plus(to) MILL(a factory, as in a steel mill).
Defn: … to cut, in industrial milling applications.
23 Initially, you only might take one villa holiday (3,3)
YOM TOV : 1st letters, respectively, of(Initially) “you only might take one villa “.
Defn: …, in general, in the Jewish calendar.
26 Precious material cut (4)
TWEE : “tweed”(clothing material) minus its last letter(cut).
Defn: …, overly.
Enjoyed this – thanks Gaff and scchua
Knowledge of Belfonte’s four minute record was very obscure to me – but checking letters and everything else made it clear.
For 22dn, I had the definition as “a bit” as in a drill bit. I believe and endmill is a type of drill with serrated teeth on the end.
It wasn’t when I was growing up (i.e. it’s something I found out on the internet while doing today’s puzzle), but Radiohead premiered Four Minute Warning (live in Copenhagen)on a May 6th
Hi peterj,
We’re in agreement. My comment for the defn. was “a bit (as represented by the ellipses) to cut, (used) in milling applications”. Wanted to but didn’t have time to include a picture of some endmills.
I’m sorry, Gaff, you defeated me once again; but my left and right lobes got a magnificent day’s tug o’ war.
Even after I’d done 1ac and 17, 19 I didn’t get the other allusions. Thanks for making all clear as usual, scchua
for 24ac I had Depend= hang, on=over
scchua has done a thorough analysis as always – Maahran, that is what I intended at 24ac.
Su you have unearthed a wonderful date-related fact which, had I found it, would have made me try to squeeze Radiohead into the grid somehow!
And Hornbeam, I’m glad you enjoyed the puzzle. My objective is always to lose a tough tussle with the solver, so thank you for being gracious in defeat!
Re 24A: I was thinking 2nd part of ONE DAY was literal. ‘One o’clock’ and ‘a day’; from time to time….