A tough workout from Tyrus – on the first pass I only had 5 solved…
…and not too many more after a couple more passes. I gradually wheedled my way into the puzzle and managed to drag myself to its conclusion – 22/15A being my LOI.
Some varied (and quite dated?!) cultural references – ‘OK’ BROWN SAUCE, Russell Grant, the ASTROLOGER – but the underlying theme-ette is on ELECTION PROMISES – with politicians dangling JAM TOMORROW under the electorate’s (SUCKERS) noses, and the ‘JAMs’ (JUST ABOUT MANAGING) classes never quite seeing the promised jam.
After finally getting the topless (S)NAILS at 24D, I was left with 22/15 – unable to work out which Fleetwood Mac song Stevie NICKS might have been saying ‘Sorry’ in, before I finally realised it was another broken election promise, by NICK Clegg, on TUITION FEES! Nick Clegg – where is he now…oh yes, filling his boots at Facebook – amazing how a Liberal conscience can be ditched for a few (million) greenbacks!…
More political polemic in some of the clue readings, with Parliament ‘spinning tosh’ at 16A; a manifesto by ‘liars’ being a ‘work of fiction’ – for SILAS MARNER at 28A; and Labour being ‘showy but worthless’ at 21D.
Hopefully I haven’t missed anything more clever on the theme (or Nina?) front, and that all is clear below.
Thanks to Tyrus for an entertaining and challenging solve…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1A | JAM TOMORROW | Carrot or stick in prospect? (3,8) | carrot (as incentive) / JAM (stick) + TOMORROW (something in prospect) |
|
| 9A | DISINFECT | Finds it difficult to keep city clean (9) | clean / DISINF_T (anag, i.e. difficult, of FINDS IT) around (keeping) EC (initial postcode letters of London’s financial district, or ‘the City’) |
|
| 10A | POSIT | It is opportunity to hold back advance (5) | advance / reversed, hidden word, i.e. to hold back, in ‘iT IS OPportunity’ |
|
| 11A | EVANGEL | Gospel in centre of church rejected by setter (7) | gospel / EVAN (nave, or centre of church, rejected) + GEL (setter, something that sets) |
|
| 12A | PROMISE | See 17D (7) | see 17D / see 17D |
|
| 13A | BROWN SAUCE | British have cause to rebel? It might be OK (5,5) | it might be OK (brand of brown sauce, in UK) / BR (British) + OWN (have) + SAUCE (anag, i.e. to rebel, of CAUSE) |
|
| 15A | FEES | See 22A (4) | see 22A / see 22A |
|
| 18A | SITS | Regularly spin tosh as Parliament does (4) | as parliament does / regular letters from ‘SpIn ToSh’ |
|
| 19A | ASTROLOGER | Grant for one when time’s right (no longer without news) (10) | (Russell) Grant, for one / AS (when) + T (time) + R (right) + ( |
|
| 22/15A | TUITION | Quite content one’s charged following dip in river – for which 26 said sorry (7,4) | (broken Liberal Democrat election promise) for which 26D (Nick Clegg)’s said ‘Sorry’ / T_EES (river) around (dipped into by) UIT (contents of qUITe) + ION (one electrically charged particle) + F (following) |
|
| 25A | SUCKERS | Report helps those conned (7) | those conned / homophone, i.e. report – SUCKERS sounds like SUCCOURS, or helps |
|
| 26A | NICKS | Recalled Charlie in coat and trousers (5) | trousers / SK_IN (coat) around C (Charlie), all reversed, or recalled = NICKS |
|
| 27A | INITIATED | Hold back, it’s assumed, after one started (9) | started / I (one) + N_IATED (detail, or hold, back) around (assuming) IT |
|
| 28A | SILAS MARNER | Point wrong near start of manifesto – liars, it’s a work of fiction! (5,6) | it’s a work of fiction! / S (south, compass point) + ILAS MARNER (anag, i.e. wrong, of NEAR + M (start of Manifesto) + LIARS |
|
| Down | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue | Definition (with occasional embellishments) / Logic/parsing |
|
| 1D | JUST ABOUT | & 2D Quite an attack on staff in decline – more likely outcome of 1A (4,5,8) | more likely outcome of 1A (‘jam tomorrow’ election promise) / JUST (quite) + A BOUT (an attack) + MAN (staff) + AGING (in decline) |
|
| 2D | MANAGING | See 1D (8) | see 1D / see 1D |
|
| 3D | OVERLOADS | Weighs down on youngsters saving nothing (9) | weighs down on / OVER (on) + L_ADS (youngsters) around (saving) O (zero, nothing) |
|
| 4D | ON TAP | Bad! Starts to attack old person’s telly not being freely available (2,3) | freely available / anag, i.e. bad, of APOTN (starting letters of ‘Attach Old Person’s Telly Not’) |
|
| 5D | REPTON | Resistance to pressure in one school or another (6) | or another (school) / R (resistance to) + E_TON (one school) around P (pressure) |
|
| 6D | WESSI | Old German is to join up (5) | old (West) German / IS + SEW (join), all up |
|
| 7D | ADVERB | Braved elements defiantly, perhaps (6) | defiantly perhaps (grammatically) / anag, i.e. using the elemnts of, of BRAVED |
|
| 8D | STRESS | Worry lover’s dropped note (6) | worry / ( |
|
| 14D | CHRISTINA | Woman with children to Romeo is a fool to return (9) | woman (‘s name) / CH (children) + R (romeo) + IS + TINA (a nit, or a fool, to return) |
|
| 16D | EGG BEATER | Consumer goods Ben briefly carried in helicopter to US (3,6) | helicoper, to US / E_ATER (consumer) around (carrying) GG (good, plural) + BE( |
|
| 17D | ELECTION | & 12A Con or lie – it seems largely designed to gain power (8,7) | &lit-ish – (something) designed to gain power / ELECTION _ROMISE (anag, i.e. designed, of CON OR LIE IT SEEM( |
|
| 18D | SATINY | Glossy container put in as an illustration (6) | glossy / SA_Y (as an illustration) around TIN (container) |
|
| 20D | RESIDE | Stay on team (6) | stay / RE (on, regarding) + SIDE (team) |
|
| 21D | TINSEL | Listen to Labour – it’s showy but worthless (6) | it’s showy but worthless / anag, i.e. to labour, of LISTEN |
|
| 23D | INCAS | Old people’s home about to shut – basic accommodation lacking (5) | old (indigenous, South American) people / IN (at home) + CA (circa, about) + S( |
|
| 24D | NAILS | Studs – they’re slow to get topless (5) | studs / ( |
|
A real toughie this one. Took me ages to finish but enjoyed every minute. Thought I was going to get through without cheats but couldn’t think what 1a was or the related 1/2d. So cheated on 1a then got 1/2d and then finished with 5d & 6d, neither of which I knew but was able to then work out.
Also didn’t know that meaning of EGG BEATER so was pleased to get that.
Too many good clues to mention. Many that were pleasing to parse, including SILAS MARNER, TUITION FEES, BROWN SAUCE…
I assume the reference to NICKS in 22/15 refers to more than one Nick but I could only think of Clegg.
Thanks to Tyrus and mc_rapper67.
Many thanks for the blog, mc_rapper67. I enjoyed reading your preamble but didn’t really know whether to laugh or cry: TUITION FEES was one of my last in, too, got immediately through NICKS [Hovis, you have to understand an apostrophe, as indicated in the blog] – I shall never get over his perfidy.
What a superb puzzle! – Tyrus on absolutely top form. It took me back to the first one of his that I solved – I’ve been hooked ever since. I was surprised just now to discover from the archive that the last Tyrus puzzle was last July. I hadn’t noticed, because we’ve been sustained by monthly Vlads in the Guardian in the meantime.
There’s so much to admire here – I had ticks all over the place. Top marks for the juxtaposition of the splendid 1ac and 1dn and special mention for BROWN SAUCE, ASTROLOGER and ADVERB, for the misdirection and ELECTION PROMISE, SITS and SILAS MARNER [one of my favourite works of fiction!] for the surfaces. [But that’s invidious, really – as often, the whole was more than the sum of the parts.]
Huge thanks, Tyrus – I guess you vented a fair bit of spleen here. Come back soon!
This was a toughie for me taking ages and needing check button for the school that I didnt know(_–instructions were clear enough though)
I was relieved rather than pleased finishing it whereas the last Nimrod was similarly difficult but so many chortles to kick me along.
I’m a big fan of Jim so I have to say the theme was good.
-Thanks all.
I omitted to say that I found it a real challenge, too! [That’s what reminded me of the first Tyrus puzzle I did – what keeps you going is knowing that you can trust the integrity of the clues.]
Eileen @2. I did think about Nick’s but abandoned that notion. Looking more carefully, I see that Nick’s meaning “Nick has”, so Nick has said sorry, works.
Thanks to mc_rapper67 and Tyrus
I was so engrossed in this I almost missed the start of the Spurs game. My first Tyrus and I hope to see more soon. Just one thing to add re the theme: although the Private Eye feature concerning the doings (or not doings) of Westminster is HP sauce, I’m sure the setter must have had it in mind.
Thanks for the various comments – apologies for late response, but I have been out most of the day…nothing too controversial – sounds like all enjoyed the challenge…
I concur with Eileen/Hovis (@various) on the implied apostrophe in Nick’s, and Dansar (@ 6) I did wonder about a possible link to HP Sauce, but forgot to mention it.
(Eileen – I have also been digging through the archives – my first Tyrus Indy blog was 8136 in 2012, and I have blogged a few more since, but I only used to do the Saturday Prize Indy, and since they dropped the prize I only do my scheduled Saturday one every 5 weeks, so I must have missed a few gems along the way (;+<)
Marvellous stuff, not easy but very very satisfying.
For more than one reason what they call ‘my cup of tea’.
Many thanks mc_rapper67 & Tyrus.
Thanks Vlad and mcr67
Very tough, and a dnf as I couldn’t complete the SW without assistance.
Slight difference for me in parsing 22/15: I had “one’s charged” as ION, which I think also works.
I enjoyed the struggle, but was glad (not negatively) when it was over.
Simon S – yes – that is a better (or even the correct!) parsing for ION – my 40-odd year old Physics O-Level deserting me there…will update accordingly…
(I take it from your and Eileen’s comments that Indy-Tyrus is also Grauniad-Vlad – I will try and retain that nugget of information!…)
mc_r @ 10
oops, yes, as I was glad when I finished I inadvertently used Jim’s (slightly) more frequent handle.
Many thanks to mc for his excellent blog and to others who took the trouble to comment.
And here is said apology…
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/19/nick-clegg-apologies-tuition-fees-pledge
mc_rapper67 @13 – excruciating.
Yes, you have many delights in store if you haven’t discovered Vlad.
A real slog but well worth the effort. A first-rate puzzle.
mc_rapper67 – you got four more than I did on my first (and second) pass! RESIDE was the only one to start with. Even the other more straightforward clues (like
SITS) were well hidden or disguised. I was pleased it was a tough puzzle as it kept us occupied on and off over the weekend after the G & FT yielded on Saturday. I’ve little to add to what has been said by previous posters – other than to add my own thanks to Tyrus/Vlad (it was when I realised they were one and the same that I determined to stick at it) and mc_rapper67.