Sixteen days to go in the mud-slinging gutter-trawling (least-un)popularity contest that is the US election, and both Trump and Clinton references abound in this week’s Cyclops…hopefully he’ll have some closer-to-home Brexit machinations and UKIP Punch-and-Judy material up his sleeve for a couple of weeks’ time!
We have the STARS AND STRIPES ‘front-and-center’ at 4D, down the middle column, and references to (Bill) Clinton’s draft-dodging (15A), Trump’s TAX RETURNS (10A), some TRUMPED UP CHARGES at 20/25A, although they involve more than just 24A FLIRTATION…and then, the 9A TANTRUM(P)S.
Favourite clue, or rather most enjoyable mental image, is the clue for 18D ADJOURN, with the idea of Jordan (glamour model Katy Price) having uranium, instead of silicon, implants! The clue to 9A is a topical reference to Hillary’s labelling of some of Donald Trump’s (mostly unsmart) supporters as ‘deplorables’.
Only fifteen more days (when this is published) before DT (hopefully) goes and crawls back under the stone he slimed out of…but then again, I went to bed on the night of the Brexit vote thinking surely the British public can’t be so stupid as to…can they?…and the American public certainly has the capacity to be more stoopider than us Brits…so, I guess we just have to wait and see…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 8A | ANCHOR | Support from Cameron: “without me, awful hot inside” (6) | support / ANC_OR (anag, i.e. awful, of CA(ME)RON without ME) with H (hot) inside |
|
| 9A | TANTRUMS | Outbursts from unsmart ‘deplorable’ following Trump’s lead (8) | outbursts / T (leading letter of Trump) + ANTRUMS (anag, i.e. deplorable, of UNSMART) |
|
| 10A | TAX-RETURNS | Duty is making a comeback: which Trump needs to be open about (3,7) | (something) which Trump needs to be open about / TAX (duty) + RETURNS (is making a comeback) |
|
| 11A | FACE | Dial Bill, Hillary’s “chief source of energy” and misery guts (4-4) | misery guts / FACE (dial) + AC (bill, account) + h (chief letter of Hillary) + E (source, or first letter, of Energy) |
|
| 12A | DIPLOMA | Ambassadorial jerk dropped certificate (7) | certificate / DIPLOMA(TIC) (ambassadorial) without (dropping) TIC (jerk) |
|
| 13A | DOSSER | Bum duke, wanker, gets time off (6) | bum / D (duke) + (T)OSSER (wanker, derogatory term, without T – time) |
|
| 15A | DRAFT DODGER | Clinton’s blueprint scheme put before Republican? (5,6) | (Bill) Clinton (allegedly?) / DRAFT (blueprint) + DODGE (scheme) + R (Republican) |
|
| 19A | CRAYON | May’s political persuasion needs injection of flash colour (6) | colour (in) / C_ON (Conservative, Prime Minister Theresa May’s political persuasion) around (injected by) RAY (flash, of light) |
|
| 20/25A | TRUMPED- | Bogus accusation from contender: “Hislop raised fee!” (7-2,6) | bogus accusation / TRUMP (contender, presidential candidate) + ED (editor, e.g. Ian Hislop) + UP (raised) + CHARGE (fee) |
|
| 22A | ACHE | See 11ac. (4) | see 11A / see 11A |
|
| 24A | FLIRTATION | “Sexual overtures” trial? Not if quashed (10) | sexual overtures / anag, i.e. quashed, of TRIAL NOT IF |
|
| 25A | -UP CHARGE | See 20ac. (2, 6) | see 20A / see 20A |
|
| 26A | REFORM | “To be a better person is about being supportive” – May’s opener (6) | to be a better person / RE (about, regarding) + FOR (being supportive) + M (opening letter of May) |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | INWARDS | After having gained seat, electoral divisions moving to centre? (7) | moving to centre / IN (after having gained seat) + WARDS (electoral divisions) |
|
| 2D | THIRD PARTY | LibDems no longer try paid HRT treatment (5,5) | LibDems no longer / anag, i.e. treatment, of TRY PAID HRT |
|
| 3D | GROTTO | Chamber gets dirt on Blair, his right wing having deserted (6) | chamber / GROT (rubbish) + TO (TO(NY) Blair, abandoned by rightmost half) |
|
| 4D | STARS AND STRIPES | Standard celebs full of ‘beach bollocks’ (5,3,7) | standard (flag) / STAR_S (celebs) around (full of) SANDS (beach) + TRIPE (bollocks) |
|
| 5D | ONE-SIDED | Left only falling apart – indeed so (3-5) | Left, only / anag, i.e. falling apart, of INDEED SO |
|
| 6D | PROF | Far right of Trump? In favour of uprising? That’s academic (4) | academic / P (rightmost letter of trumP) + ROF (for, in favour of, reversed, or uprising, as this is a down clue) |
|
| 7D | SMACKER | Inappropriate nursery worker’s show of affection (7) | show of affection (kiss) / (double defn.? one, by example?) – a nursery worker smacking their charges would be inappropriatre; and a SMACKER can be a kiss, or show of affection. |
|
| 14D | SLEEP IT OFF | Go off sex rotten, as drunks usually do (5,2,3) | as drunks usually do (when suffering from a hangover) / SLEEP (go off, drop off) + IT (sex, euphemism) + OFF (rotten) |
|
| 16D | FINE FARE | France used Iran fee to provide sumptuous spread? (4,4) | sumptuous spread / F (France) + INE FARE (anag, i.e. used, of IRAN FEE) |
|
| 17D | TRICEPS | Blunders, accepting extremely Conservative means of relaxing arms (7) | means of relaxing (or tensing) arms / TRI_PS (blunders) around (accepting) CE (extreme letters of ConservativE) |
|
| 18D | ADJOURN | Suspend Jordan’s bust with uranium implant (7) | suspend / ADJO_RN (anag, i.e. bust, of JORDAN) around (implanted with) U (uranium) |
|
| 21D | UPTURN | Recovery of “rehabilitated” Trump accepted by international body? Miles off! (6) | recovery / U_N (international body) around PTUR (anag, i.e. rehabilitated, of TRU(M)P, without M – miles) |
|
| 23D | ECHO | Errant Corbynite leaders brought before House are reflective (4) | are reflective / EC (first letters, or leaders, of Errant Corbynite) + HO (house) |
|
There is lots of material online about Bill Clinton’s record regarding Vietnam and the draft (which was widely debated when he stood for the presidency). Here is a minor undocumented footnote:
Clinton was one of four US Rhodes scholars who began courses at University College Oxford in 1968. If he had wanted to do a bit of saxophone practice on site without disturbing other people, he could have used the college’s soundproofed music room, recently upgraded with the help of funds donated in memory of another US Rhodes scholar who had come to University College nine years earlier in 1959. His name was James Ray, a West Point educated army captain who died in Vietnam in 1965.
Thanks mc_rapper67. Re 17d I could see that Triceps had to be the answer but I wondered if ‘relaxing arm’ was some technical/anatomical term. As for as I know the triceps is engaged to straighten the arm. No doubt there’s more to it than that. I also had a chuckle at 18d (should have been 40d I suppose)
Thanks, John E @1 for your info re WJC – I only said ‘allegedly’ to avoid the Feds or the Agency trying to come over here and extradite me!
Franko @2 – I think that technically speaking the biceps flex (tighten) the arm and the triceps extend it, which is probably its ‘relaxed’ position, depending on what you are doing at the time…(talking of which, 38DD maybe for 18D?!…)
Can someone help me please? This internet access to the crossword is lovely since I can now complete before the deadline (but forget to submit, every time!), but now I get am attracted to old crosswords on that site. However, the answers are not always available on THIS site. I am stuck with one last clue on Eye 300. One who sacrificed himself, pointlessly, for sex (4). Answer is _A_S. Help!!!!
@Winsor: it’s Oat[e]s. Fortunately it was in my plain text archive of those I’ve solved myself.
Did anyone else notice, btw, that last week they had #430 within the file labelled 585.puz. It was only Friday when I noticed and emailed PE. It got corrected that day, but I was a bit surprised no-one seemed to have beaten me to it.
Oh! Thank you so much lemming. It has been driving me crazy all weekend.