Another Trump-ridden grid.
I am getting too used to seeing the Donald used in wordplay. A year ago, six months ago even, it provided a new stamping ground for ironic humour.
But he’s still there! Somehow.
Use of some standard wordplay such as “heartless Trump” for TP, “Trump’ s core” for U, make the clues mechanistic. Which I think is why this one was quite a swift solve: Only 6 answers to get after the first pass mostly in the top right corner. They didn’t last long after solving the excellent 3d
Two silly joke/questions from teenage son number 1:
What kind of fruit do vampires like?
and
What do you call a snobby burglar running down the stairs?
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BLATANT | Shameless baronet conceals backtracking about birth (7) NATAL< (birth, backtracking) in BT (baronet). First read and first answered quite swiftly. |
| 5 | OUTSIDE | Lout’s ideal housing on the surface (7) Hidden in LOUT’S IDEal, Hidden Ind: housing |
| 9/17 | OPEN ARMS | They welcome getting round to shut up members (4,4) O (round) PEN (to shut up) ARMS (members) |
| 10 | WHITE HOUSE | Moral campaigner once split a symbol of Trump and his staff (5,5) Ref. Mary Whitehouse – moral campaigner, with a space |
| 12 | HONCHO | Hard, working with Conservative House leader (6) H[ard] ON (working) C[onservative] HO[use]. I found this the toughest clue in the puzzle. |
| 13 | PEDICURE | Piss-covered crud sloshed over one – sort of treatment dogs get (8) CRUD* AInd: sloshed, around (over) I (one), all inside PEE. Def. is ref. Cockney Slang: yer dogs are yer feet |
| 14 | ROCK BAND | Possibly Queen‘s tip: bar Donald first and foremost! (4,4) ROCK (tip, as in tip over) BAN (bar) D[onald] |
| 15/25 | REAL LIFE | It’s no dream: leaders of Republican extremists articulate lucid sentence! (4,4) R[epublican] E[xtremists] A[rticulate] L[ucid] LIFE (sentence) |
| 18 | SCHEDULE | Sad leches accept lead from Donald Trump’s core programme (8) (LECHES D[onald] [tr]U[mp])* AInd: Sad |
| 21 | SNOWSHOE | After cocaine and sex, he accepts ring – which is useful to an Inuit (8) SNOW (cocaine) S[ex] O inside HE |
| 23 | FLOPPY | Possibly in need of push-up bra, smart, with internal pop-out (6) POP* AInd: out, inside FLY (smart) |
| 24 | DIPLOMATIC | Not how you’d describe Trump‘s Capitol, mid crisis (10) (CAPITOL MID)* AInd: Crisis. Great anagram |
| 26 | CLOSURE | Cluer’s bollocks injected with oxygen to get a satisfactory climax? (7) (CLUER’S + O[xygen])* AInd:bollocks |
| 27 | STEWARD | Perversely set to engage in conflict, Germany – that’s official (7) SET* AInd: perversely, WAR (conflict) D (Germany) |
| Down | ||
| 2 | LAPTOP | PC Lake fitting up RAF officer (6) L[ake] APT( fitting) PO< (RAF Officer, PO = Pilot Officer). Last one in. Became obvious with the final crossing letter but |
| 3 | TENACIOUS | Conservative’s end count is a disaster – tough! (9) ([conservativ]E COUNT IS A)* AInd: disaster. My favourite clue. Well constructed. Quite tough: I did not get this without several crossers, and a surface reading that makes me think it was written on June 8th |
| 4 | NEW YORK | Er … wonky, scatty First Lady reluctant to leave it? (3,4) (ER WONKY)* AInd: scatty. |
| 6 | UPENDED | Arse-over-tip DUP need reforming (7) (DUP NEED)* AInd: reforming. |
| 7 | STOIC | So it’s bad on Conservative who suffers in silence (5) (SO IT)* AInd: bad , C[onservative] |
| 8 | DISARRAY | Abbott’s having parade for shambolic state of May’s government? (8) DI’s (Abbott’s, Diane) ARRAY (parade) |
| 11 | IMPEACHMENT | “Yours truly is a great looker, guys,” tweet started – revealing what Trump’s headed for? (11) I’M PEACH MEN T[weet] |
| 15 | RULE OF LAW | Constructing wall for EU, which Trump apparently rides roughshod over (4,2,3) (WALL FOR EU)* AInd: constructing |
| 16 | IRON WILL | Press with evil Thatcher-style determination (4,4) IRON (press) W[ith] ILL (evil) |
| 18 | SCHEMER | He has plans to cut school – “mere diversion” (7) SCH[ool] MERE* AInd: diversion” |
| 19 | DEFICIT | Failure to meet requirement, Conservative leader, one fed up with PCs etc. (7) (C[onservative] I (one) FED)< then IT (PCs etc.) |
| 20 | OPT FOR | Decide on nothing with backing of heartless Trump and Right (3,3) O (nothing) (OF T[rum]P)< R[ight] |
| 22 | WALES | Washington diminished, lacking sympathetic leader for the nation (5) WA. LES[s] |
What kind of fruit do vampires like?
Neck-tarines
[ Ha! You thought I was going to say blood oranges ! ]
What do you call a snobby burglar running down the stairs?
A condescending con descending
“But he’s still there! Somehow.”
Is that referring to him in the grid, or in real life?
I meant it as real life. Not that his life as a reality TV star has much to do with reality, just TV, that gas crept out into the real world.
Consequently he ends up in the Eye grid.
And your implication is right – I have had enough of him both counts