Yes, we are back again. No complaints though as we have a Tyrus puzzle today .
We were on the lookout for something in the grid but it took us quite a while before the NINA started to make some sense – if Trump running again makes any sense at all. We’re sure that the fact that some of the clues (10/17, 12, 15 & 22) can be read to make reference to the former president, is not a coincidence!
Thanks Tyrus.
An anagram (‘unfortunately’) of GET RAIN around A (start of afternoon)
wELDER (joiner) without or ‘chopping’ W (wife)
An anagram (‘improper’) of A CELLAR I’M SATISFIED – a possible reference to Trump?
Hidden and reversed or ‘kept and retired’ in progrAMMEr
PETER (safe) IN G (Government) – Trump again?
EMB (a ‘cycling’ of the award MBE) and L (lost) inside a reversal (‘flipping’) of I O (middle of riot)
M (Mike) and ASS (American or how Trump may say behind) – a reference to Mike Pence and the Capitol riot?
A homophone (‘said’) of MALES (about half of the population)
KEN (doll – Barbie’s ‘boyfriend’) around or ‘keeping’ R (final letter or ‘close ‘ to singer). Jerome Kern was an American songwriter who collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II in Showboat.
UR (old city) GENT (polite bloke)
An anagram (‘dancing’) of IN TROUPE
R (right) ICE (kill)
An anagram (‘rocking’) of RADIANT ROD
HAL (Prince) M (last or ‘final’ letter of William) A
STREW (broadcast) around or ‘catching’ AND (with)
N (name) + I inside ELLE (women’s magazine)
PS (I almost forgot) inside or ‘visiting’ TATER’S (murphy’s)
R (king) I’M (the writer’s) IN (accepted) I (international)
Hidden or ‘eaten’ in DoUG LIkes
NEEDLE (prick) SS (first and last letters or ‘extremes’ of sackings)
BREVe (note) missing last letter or ‘short’ DA (lawyer) all reversed or ‘turned over’
G (good) + MB (doctor) inside or ‘laid into’ RULER (king)
RIPE (ready) after or ‘supporting’ G (German)
AI (main road) RIGHT (sure) around T (town)
ATM (source of money) AND (also) in UK (country) reversed or ‘raised’ as it is a down clue
EVELYN (a name for a boy or girl) with N (north) being brought ‘up’ in the answer
UP (leading) R (Republican) OAR (row) – Trump again?
pOODLES (dogs) without first letter or ‘slipping lead’
TeASE (guy) missing the first E (‘point’ as in East)
Beaten by KERN, even with the crossers. The name rings a vague bell as a songwriter and I should have spotted KEN though my doll knowledge has some mysterious gaps in it. And did not spot the perimeter Nina. I wonder how long ago this puzzle was submitted?
Favourites from today’s puzzle include AERATING, CLASSIFIED MATERIAL, ST ANDREW, TAPSTERS, ADVERB and GRUMBLER.
EMBOLI is the first time I’ve encountered lost = L. Obvious, really, when one thinks of the Played, Won, Drawn, Lost columns in any sporting league but none of them are in Chambers as abbreviations. (Well, one is – or, rather, WON is but as the Korean currency rather than the victorious status.)
Thanks Tyrus and the hard-working B&J
Thanks Tyrus and BnJ
Superb puzzle! Starting to piece together the nina early on certainly helped towards the conclusion.
PM @ 1 I’ve commented numerous times that W D L etc are regularly seen as standalones but aren’t in dictionaries, whereas S = Society is in dictionaries but, as far as I’m aware, is only ever seen as part of a compound abbreviation, not as a standalone.
Started out thinking SURELY TRUMP CAN TRUST? No- much better than that
Another belter from JT-and thanks B&J
[Simon S @2: I’m sure you have – I don’t get to see every blog and probably don’t remember every point. I was pulled up recently for using Sunday = S in a puzzle (and subsequently changed it to Sabbath) yet it was not that long ago it was signalled that way in a Guardian puzzle. They do say Chambers, with its intention of being the crossword authority, lists more abbreviations than other dictionaries. It has not kept up with the single letter abbreviations making their way in from internetspeak and, I daresay, at some point we’ll see days of the week (Thur and Tue do appear, out of interest)]
Copmus@3 – you weren’t tempted by SURELY TRUMP CAN’T RUST then?
Terrific puzzle, thanks to Tyrus and B&J
DuncT – Nice one!
PM @ 4 – It wasn’t a dig, I was expressing agreement (or so I thought).
SS @7: I didn’t take it as a dig but was extending the observation – but I do appreciate I may well be raising an old topic that’s been chewed over before without my knowing (or with my knowing and even participation but without my remembering!)
Hal a was an unknown for us, but unusually we did see the Nina today!
CLASSIFIED MATERIAL was brilliant. EVENLY, TAPSTERS were two of my other favourites among a number of fine clues. Thanks to Tyrus for the puzzle and to Bert and Joyce for the explanations.
My favourite in this very fine puzzle was NEEDLESS…..surely another reference to Trump, considering the number of sackings during his tenure, not to mention the surface read!
Many thanks to Tyrus and B&J.
We were held up in the NE corner until we worked out exactly what the nina was, but the nina then helped us get 5dn and 6dn to finish. Excwllwnt entertainment from Tyrus. And once we got KATMANDU 18ac had to be KERN though it took a few moments for the penny to drop about Ken = doll. Favourite was ST ANDREW.
Thanks, Tyrus and B&J.
Many thanks to B and J for the blog and to others for their comments. The nina of course was from the heart.