Apoloogies, all, for the late posting. Thank you to Picaroon. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
As mentioned in 9 down, there are 10 (past and present) members of “a House Divided”, refering to the House of Commons, in the grid:
Major, Wilson, Brown, May, Eden, Truss, Smith, Heath, Foot, Peel (reversed)
Across
1. Group of doctors show off info about worthy folk (4,3)
WHO’S WHO : WHO(abbrev. for the World Health Organisation, the group responsible for international public health under the UN) + anagram of(… off) SHOW.
5. Island has significant area bordering sea, we hear (7)
MAJORCA : [ MAJOR(significant/important) + A(abbrev. for “area”) ] containing(bordering) “C”(pronounced/we hear, the same as “sea”) .
10. Press endlessly saying things without meaning them (4)
IRON : “irony”(saying things that you don’t really mean) minus its last letter(endlessly …).
Defn: … clothes, say.
11. Ultimately, Aquinas and Catholics disseminated such philosophy? (10)
SCHOLASTIC : Last letter of(Ultimately) “Aquinas” plus(and) anagram of(… disseminated) CATHOLICS.
12. Heartless decrees by working president once (6)
WILSON : “wills”(decrees/specific instructions) minus its middle letter(Heartless …) plus(by) ON(working).
Defn: … in the USA.
13. Everton and Derby’s first team clothes not changed (8)
UNEDITED : [1st letter of(…’s first) “Everton” and “Derby“] contained in(… clothes) UNITED(as used in the names of teams, like Manchester United).
14. Relative somewhere in the UK swallows indefinite number of drinks (5,4)
BROWN ALES : BRO(short for “brother”, a relative) + WALES(part of/somewhere in the UK) containing(swallows) N(in maths, symbol for an indefinite number).
16. Always entertained by bishop, say, of old civilisation (5)
MAYAN : AY(a poetic form of “always”) contained in(entertained by) MAN(a piece on a chess board, in this case/say, the bishop).
17. Son given either end of tasty pork pie (5)
STORY : S(abbrev. for “son”) plus(given) (T OR Y)[either the front end or back end of “tasty”).
Defn: A lie, or … in rhyming slang.
19. Birds with wit circling good spot to the west (4,5)
WILD GEESE : WILDE(Oscar, the Irish wit) containing(circling) [ G(abbrev. for “good”) + reversal of(… to the west, in an across clue) SEE(to spot/to look).
23. Large drop drunk by that guy, one capital port (8)
HELSINKI : [L(abbrev. for “large”) + SINK(to drop/come to a lower level)] contained in(drunk by) [ HE(that guy) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) ].
24. Keeping poles apart, joined European country (6)
SWEDEN : SN(abbrev. for “south” and “north” poles) contained in(Keeping … apart …) [WED(joined in matrimony) + E(abbrev. for “European”) ].
26. Patience, say, I manage to keep in company, getting arm twisted (5,5)
COMIC OPERA : [ I + COPE(to manage/to deal with effectively)] contained in(to keep in) [ CO(abbrev. for “company”) plus(getting) anagram of(… twisted) ARM.
Defn: An example of which/say is “Patience”, by Gilbert and Sullivan.
27. eg 1st of December, 2nd of May, 6th of August, 4th of June? (4)
DATE : 1st letter of(1st of) “December” + 2nd letter of(2nd of) “May” + 6th letter of (6th of) “August” + 4th letter of (4th of) “June“.
Defn: Of which examples are/…
28. Work hard in fact to return formal attire (3,4)
TOP HATS : [OP(abbrev. for “opus”, a literary or musical work) + H(abbrev. for “hard”) ] contained in(in) reversal of(… to return) STAT(short for “statistic”/a fact).
29. Release a lot of mendacious fascists (7)
UNTRUSS : “untrue”(mendacious/lying) minus its last letter(a lot of …) SS(Schutzstaffel, the fascist organisation of the Nazi Party.
Down
2. Runner has day for run, showing more endurance (7)
HARDIER : “harrier”(a cross-country runner) with “d”(abbrev. for “day”) replacing(has … for) “r”(abbrev. for “run” in cricket scores).
3. Channel goes wrong about rating given to film (5)
SINUS : SINS(goes wrong/commits an immoral act) containing(about) U(one of the ratings in the classification system of film).
Defn: … in the body.
4. Pavlova with hot topping getting huge praise (7)
HOSANNA : ANNA(Pavlova, famed ballerina) placed below(with … topping, in a down clue) [ H(abbrev. for “hot”) plus(getting) OS(abbrev. for “outsize”/huge) ].
6. Oblivious to the world, like flipping British PM (6)
ASLEEP : AS(like/having similar characteristics) reversal of(flipping) PEEL(once British Prime Minister).
7. Wilful child mostly climbing, say, around home (9)
OBSTINATE : Reversal of(… climbing, in a down clue) “boy”(child) minus its last letter(mostly) + STATE(to say/to declare) ] containing(around) IN(at home, as in “I’m home if you want to visit”).
8. Caught that chap about to bring up adult fantasy (7)
CHIMERA : C(abbrev. for “caught” in cricket scores) + HIM(that chap) + reversal of(… to bring up, in a down clue) RE(about/with reference to) + A(abbrev. for “adult”).
9. One cannot stand Bill going round hideous dive drunk (with 10 members of 9 to be found in the grid) (1,5,7)
A HOUSE DIVIDED : AD(abbrev. for “advertisement”, of which a bill/poster is an example) containing(going round) anagram of(… drunk) HIDEOUS DIVE.
Defn: From Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech.
15. Extremely devious setter’s rising in value — Logodaedalus, say (9)
WORDSMITH : [ 1st and last letters of(Extremely) “devious” + reversal of(…’s rising) I’M(setter is/I am, with the setter using the self-referential pronoun)] contained in(in) WORTH(value/merit).
Defn: An example of which/say, is Logodaedalus, a crossword setter.
18. Italian who drew one game after another (7)
TIEPOLO : POLO(a game/sport played on horseback) placed under(… after another, in a down clue) TIE(a game/sports match between individuals or teams in a knock-out competition)
Answer: Giovanni Battista …, an Italian artist.
20. Pooh-pooh bust said to interrupt boom, perhaps (7)
DISDAIN : Anagram of(bust) SAID contained in(to interrupt) DIN(a noise, an example of which/perhaps is Boom!).
21. Covers of special celeb mag keep mum in a spin (7)
SHEATHS : S(abbrev. for “special”) + HEAT(an English entertainment magazine/a celeb mag) + reversal of(… in a spin) SH!(keep mum/quiet).
22. Like hikers taking fellow as well towards the top (2,4)
ON FOOT : ON(taking, as in “are you on medication?”) + F(abbrev. for “fellow”) + reversal of(… towards the top, in a down clue) TOO(as well/also).
25. Engineers fail to turn down supplier (5)
EIDER : Reversal of(… to turn) [ RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers in the British military) + DIE(to fail/to cease of work, as with machinery) ].
Defn: …, duck feathers, that is.
Many thanks to Picaroon for this super puzzle, and to scchua for the blog.
But Peel isn’t one of members; it’s Hardie in 1d.
In 12a I parsed “heartless decrees” as WILLS minus L to give WILS
Good stuff, many thanks to Picaroon and scchua
Worth noting that the right wing members are on the right of the grid, and the left-leaners on the left.
gladys @3 good spot, raises the puzzle to an even higher level.
Thanks, scchua, I needed your explanation for 9a.
A couple of small points: in 12a, only the middle letter (heart) of “wills” is omitted, and in 23a “that guy” is represented by “he”, not “him”.
PS The original source for ‘a house divided’ is Matthew 12:25.
Sorry, Cumbrian @2, I hadn’t seen your post!
… they’re nearly all PMs, too – the rest are party leaders. I grinned at the stray TORY on the left. 😉
Lovely crossword!
Good spot, Gladys@3. Shame the (s)TORY has crept in on the left!
So many great clues – I had fourteen ticks! I
I must highlight the brilliance of the &lit 11ac – see here: https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/saint-thomas-aquinas
Sorry for the crossing, DP – I was searching for my link!
Which Smith is this IDS?
Nice puzzle. Thanks Picaroon and scchua
Ignore my comment @11.
I think there is also (Keir) HARDIE among the members on the left, so PEEL can be left off the list?
Anyway, it’s just as well the blog was late, because this one took me ages (but was worth it). Some very fiddly parsing, and I never did sort out WILD GEESE or HELSINKI. But also some lovely AHA! moments like EIDER and DISDAIN.
An ingenious puzzle from Picaroon this morning, particularly his configuring WHO’S WHO at 1a.
Re 3d, I can still remember parental discussions about ensuring my brother and I only watched U ( Universally acceptable ) films and, unbeknown to them, sneaking into A’s ( strictly Adults only ) !
Like BROWN ALES ( literally and in the puzzle ), DISDAIN, UNEDITED
It’s funny MAJORCA should have come up after Spooner’s Catflap ( comment 36 yesterday ) posted a vid of a Sloane Ranger massacring that word.
Seem to have 1-person disagreement about the leaders of the parties. I will paste in my word doc re ‘earlier preparation’ : Peel reversed out and Keir HARDIE ( after whom Keir Starmer is named ) in :
Earlier prep
Have put the leaders of the main parties in clue order and remark that it’s funny that MAJOR is the major entry ( lowest number clue seen ) and FOOT is at the foot ( partial of highest number down clue involved ). MAJOR, WILSON, BROWN, MAY, EDEN, TRUSS, HARDIE, SMITH, HEATH. FOOT. As I was debating when the Speakers came up as the theme, it’s good that Picaroon and the Grauniad design 6 Labour and only 4 Conservative. Nice symmetry about arch rivals WILSON and HEATH ( one in from start and end respectively ). Used to love it when The Beatles sang “Taxman, Mr Wilson ; Taxman, Mr Heath”.
End of earlier prep
Thank you Picaroon and scchua.
I took HARDIE to be the 9th like judygs@1 – in fact, I think he might have been the first of the themers that I spotted. As always, a joyful solve and this was my favourite of the week. Particularly pleased to see Picaroon clue 19a as ‘def with WP’. It is sometimes a contentious link but not one with which I have a problem as solver or setter so it’s nice to see it out in the wild occasionally.
WHO’S WHO, SCHOLASTIC, TOP HATS, UNTRUSS (despite the memories), HOSANNA, CHIMERA and TIEPOLO were my favourites today.
Thanks Picaroon and scchua
@12. Not IDS – he would be wrong side of the divide. This is Labour leader John Smith.
TTT@12 — with Everton in the clueing ! : John Smith – died of a heart attack – and came between Neil Kinnock (with interim : Margaret Beckett — acting ) and then Tony Blair as I recall regarding Lab leaders.
Lovely crossword and blog. Note that ‘logodaedalus’ is also a ‘rare’ word meaning wordsmith: ‘a person who uses words with skill or cunning’.
Thanks Picaroon and scchua
No idea of the theme for me, of course. I laughed at the definition for EIDER.
I suspect that Tiepolo would have been a bit miffed at being described as “Italian who drew”; he was best known for his ceiling frescoes, painted with lots of colour.
Picaroon pretty much hitting the sweet spot for me in terms of difficulty today. Some excellent clues, of which I especially liked WILD GEESE.
After seeing MAY, BROWN, EDEN and WILSON early on, I was hunting for Prime Ministers, but it turned out that being leader of the Opposition was sufficiently eminent to qualify. And after IRON I was hoping a lady would turn up, but no such luck.
Yes Flea @18, Everton in the there and not a “down” clue. Haha, thanks Picaroon
There’s something I’m missing here … is it John S to balance them up Lab vs Con?
I’ve had “A House Divided” by David Steel on my shelf since 1970s without reading it. Maybe I should.
@22. Five Labour leaders to the left of the divide, five Tories to the right. Being PM is superfluous – neither Smith nor Foot made it.
Found this tough. Didn’t help myself by thinking for a while that Great Aunt, with a couple of suitable crossers already in place, might fit the bill for a “relative” in 14ac. Until it became obvious that a H-U-N wouldn’t accommodate anything at 9d. Also wondered whether Secrete rather than UNTRUSS would do for 29ac. Fairly obvious early on that there were lots of PM’s within the grid – of course UNTRUSS, therefore. But took me to the very end to get what A HOUSE then seven letters might possibly be. Loi HELSINKI. Loved the duck at 25d. Very enjoyable nonetheless…
TTT@22 : Yes indeed. I’ve counted incorrectly and it’s only up to 5 ! I’m (slightly) left of centre with my views and I want The Guardian to remain so. I’ll have to squirm and declare the score 6-5 ( even though 10 declared in 9d ! ) I’d like BROWN to be included twice – Gordon and George ( temp Lab leader 18/01/63 – 14/02/63 ). “Raaber” I keep my allegiance to Labour than get my counting right.
So clever with so much to enjoy. Of so many great clues I’ll just mention 27a and 35d
Many thanks to Picaroon and scchua
Cumbrian@2 and crosser@5 Thanks. Blog corrected.
Lovely puzzle. Picaroon continues to amaze me.
Very clever with the party leaders opposing each other across the grid and the key answer down the middle. Non- theme-wise I agree EIDER was brilliant – classic Picaroon misdirection.
Many thanks both.
(By the way, the blog for Maskarade’s Easter special has been published today and not attracted many comments yet. Maybe people haven’t noticed it?)
The pirate’s been busy this week — a challenge by Buccaneer in the FT, a sublime crossword by Rodriguez in the Indy, and now a gem in the G. How Picaroon maintains such consistent high quality always amazes me. My top picks today were WHOS WHO, UNEDITED, BROWN ALES, ASLEEP, and WORDSMITH. I had fun finding the PM’s and only missed Foot. Thanks to both.
Really good stuff, and for once the theme actually helped me with the last few. Didn’t spot the divide though, which makes it even more impressive. Also I got held up by entering DESPAIR at 20d. I parsed it as “pooh-pooh bust said” = sounds (a bit) like diss pair, and then spent far too long on google trying to convince myself that “boom to despair” is a thing. It isn’t. A very amusing misdirection, whether intended or not.
Excellent stuff from a favourite setter – lovely surfaces, lots of misdirection and a chance to see some lesser used words. Challenging but lots of fun. Ticks for so many but esp. WORDSMITH and WHO’S WHO. Thanks to schhua for the blog and for parsing a couple I couldn’t.
Fantastic puzzle – hardest of the week for me, but probably the most satisfying too. Thanks, Picaroon and scchua.
Hello. We also have Jim COPE In there on the left
Never heard of Heat magazine (I’m proud to say) so I was defeated by SHEATHS but really a great puzzle.
Brilliant! Picaroon has to be my fave. Patting myself on the back for having picked up the theme and all the clever nuances. Rare for me.
A brilliant puzzle! Should have seen what was coming when 1a was WHOS WHO, which was a suitably sublime beginning.
Can’t help feeling the surface for UNTRUSS was telling us something too.
Thanks Picaroon and scchua
Found this very tough. Failed to solve 19ac and 20d. Did not see theme of UK PMs and “members of a house divided” until the end – I spotted Truss, Brown, Wilson, Major, May, Eden, Foot, Heath, Smith and Peel.
Liked STORY.
I could not parse 7d, 13ac, 21d.
New for me: logodaidalos = wordsmith.
Thanks, both.
Easiest puzzle of the week for me, but every clue was a tick. Just falls that way sometimes.
Ta Picaroon & scchua
Thanks for the blog, I think PEEL should be excluded as he is specifically clued as British PM so is not really part of the nuclear theme from 9D.
A HOUSE DIVIDED is very well done and so is SCHOLASTIC , not an &Lit though, – such philosophy is not part of the word play.
Like MrPostMark I approve of WILD GEESE and a nice use of Wilde=wit.
I hope Anna saw HELSINKI , COMIC OPERA reminded me of Bunthorne , those were the days.
[This is not a complaint.] I was a bit puzzled by this puzzle’s theme, since the original quote, as pointed out in the blog, is from Abraham Lincoln, yet none of the themers relate to that context (nor are they all prime ministers), so I was thrown for a bit. But no harm done, enjoyed the individual clues.
27a (DATE), while superficially different, used pretty much the same gimmick as yesterday’s BRIAR by Philistine.
[ AlanC @39 , it is now 19-8 , against all the odds I was Number 1 for Cyclops. Sprog3 is watching the mighty KPR tomorrow ]
[Roz @42: I had my comment ready around 8ish but what can you do? I hope Sprog3 smiles along with my only Sprog1 but probably on different ends of the ground? ]
[ I do not know much about the ground but he always goes to Burnley ]
[ Sod Othello is my retort:-) ]
Dr WhatsOn @41 – see judygs @6. Lincoln was far from being the first to find it quotable.
[ Disaster for sad lout . ]
Having just finished a run of THE SORCERER, we spotted what was what for PATIENCE right off. Never did get all the 9D characters, but for ignorant Americans we did all right.
Zilch.
Nada.
Nothing.
Not even DATE.
I am lost.
What the heck am I doing wrong?!
Getting a few clues would boost the confidence!
At the moment I would pay for someone to sit down with me to run me through a cryptic and tell me how to think.
Sorry. Rant over.
Steffen @49
Don’t worry and keep trying; this one was hard!
Is there a way of having a solving partner online? When I started I always solved with my parents and that was how I learnt. I’m thinking that that is what you need, Steffen.
Eileen @10: isn’t the brilliance of 11A dimmed somewhat by the confusion between the clue’s use of “philosophy” (meaning an ideology) and a philosophical method? Surely, scholasticism is more the latter — a dialectical system for resolving the apparent contradictions between Aristotelian Philosophy & Catholic Theology — than a philosophy per se.
Roz @ 40
Yes, I did see Helsinki, as I jolly well ought to, as I live there.
Good to see your comments. I don’t comment much myself these days as I only start the daily crossword in the evening, and it’s mostly all been said by the time I come here.
Steffen @49. I am not sure how real time would help much over checking in with 15 squared in general. As I’ve gotten vaguely better over the years, I find that I now have no setters on my ‘don’t expect to finish list’ – though earlier there were a bunch. I do think there a wavelength issue – that’s one of the reasons many people find Anto obscure, but I like his work … . Of course, you could do real time through any chat (video or text) interface if you can locate someone who is good and in your time zone. I recently enjoyed this book. Good luck.
Andrew Tyndall @52 (I’m just in from church choir practice!)
I understand what you are saying but the term ‘Scholastic philosophy’ appears to be widely acknowledged. Googling it produced this:
“This unique blend of pagan wisdom (the philosophy of Aristotle) and revealed wisdom (the Scriptures and teachings of the Church) was called Scholastic philosophy. The most famous Scholastic philosophical work was St. Thomas Aquinas’ five-volume treatise Summa Theologica. ”
from the first paragraph of this document: https://www.saintaquinas.com/primer.html
Note the question mark in the clue, which seems to me to lead straight to the solution.
It may not be &lit – I’m usually wary of using this term – but still pretty brilliant, I think. It’s going into my little book of classic clues, anyway.
Too clever by three quarters
Stop, look and listen baby, that’s my philosophy…
Like that of Aquinas, Elvis’s approach was more focussed on philosophical method than on formulating precise ideological positions 😉
One reason I always enjoy puzzles from this setter is that normally no specifically British knowledge is required. But today, staring for some time at my completed grid trying to work out what was meant by the “10 members of 9” was rather futile. At least the puzzle could be completed without such knowledge — apart from the film classification and the “celeb mag”, both of which had me scratching my head. I’m aware that some will think “What do you expect in a British crossword?”, which is fair enough, but the Guardian does have a sizeable international readership. Nuff said.
I thought 1a must have had something to do with Doctor Who, until the penny dropped. And I’d not heard of the Italian artist.
Thanks Picaróon & scchua.
[Steffen @49 – this is going to sound incredibly disloyal to 15², which is a wonderful resource – but I honestly think you might benefit from a week’s break.
Have a crossword-free day tomorrow, it’ll give your brain a chance to reset. Then, for the coming week, just print out three puzzles: Sunday’s Everyman, Monday’s Guardian cryptic, and the Quiptic (let’s hope the latter two are more beginner-friendly than they were this week!)
Then DON’T come to 15², or use any other crossword-solving aids, until the following Sunday. Just carry the three puzzles around with you all week, as Roz once recommended here. Solve a few clues, then if nothing more comes, just SLEEP ON IT – it really is surprising what fresh eyes can see in the morning, or while you’re making a cup of tea and thinking about something entirely different.
DON’T expect to solve everything, even after a week. Remember that many of us here have been solving for 40 years or more. Just see how many clues you can solve, and come back here next Sunday for help with the ones you can’t.
Repeat for the next ten weeks.
If there’s no improvement by then, you can sue me 🙂 ]
59. Ridiculously logical, sensible and my gratitude is huge.
Don’t usually get round to starting these til later in the evenings when tired, and this week has been brutal.
I’m taking your advice.
[Steffen @ 49 & 60: eb’s advice is exceedingly sound. It always is. If you are on Twitter, I’d be more than happy to connect and to run through a puzzle with you. (Providing I’ve managed to solve it myself!)]
What a nice bunch of supportive Fifteen Squared bloggers we are on here…
I’m with Geoff @58. I got A HOUSE DIVIDED almost right away, and parsed it, but I could not see any way that 10 clues could be linked to it. Now that it is explained, I am not surprised at all. I especially agree with Geoff’s “sizeable international readership” point, although pointing that out only ever attracts contumely from British readers.
I’m with Eileen @10 + 55 on SCHOLASTIC. I thought it was one of the best clues I have seen in a long time. I don’t suppose my PhD in Philosophy has anything to do with that… On the ‘international readership’ issue, it seems to me that you would have to be pretty insular in your outlook not to have heard of the vast MAJORity of these politicians, even if you live on the other side of the world. Especially if you engage with the Guardian. Moreover, I didn’t see any complaints from non-Yanks about the long ago US president in 12a. Thanks, Picaroon & scchua.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the presence of TINA (M. Thatcher) in OBSTINATE !!
Steffen@60 , Mr Essexboy is more eloquent than me, and I did not mention the quiptic since I never see it, but I gave exactly the same advice on Thursday in the FT Gurney puzzle,
Stop trying to do so many , do three on a weekly cycle , 20 minutes a day on each and no checking answers for a week , the blogs will still be there.
These blogs are wonderful but can be a little too tempting, hard work and stubbornness is needed to get better.
This was much trickier than the Prize puzzle. Needed some electronic help to get through a few clues. Didn’t get Tiepolo. Never heard of the guy/gal.
Good to see Anna@53 , I know what you mean , I do not do the puzzle until my journey home so I am often late and the blog is usually very full , this one not too bad. Sometimes I totally disagree with the blog and comments , so it is have a rant or say nothing, usually nothing.
Steffen@49 I learned cryptic puzzles by being given my mother’s Telegraph puzzle to see if I could solve the ones she was stuck on as a teenager, and chatting about it, more as a sounding board than in expectation, but I found if I saw the puzzle before she did, I could often solve a fair bit in my head, and some she was stuck on (no way was I writing anything in until she’d seen it). If I could find a copy, the Sunday Express skeleton was fun too.
When I went to university I started buying the Times, before the strike and Murdoch, and in those days, you couldn’t see the answers until the next day, so it was puzzle away with gaps until you saw the answers.
During the strike, I switched to the Guardian, and could be found with others solving sitting along the bar with a pint in the evening – the bar manager too, who had more experience and was good. We gradually got better over the years with practice. And I continued buying a paper and doing the crossword when I started work (boring job of ringing round people, I’d have the crossword next to me to look at while I was waiting to talk to the right person, on the commute when not cycling, etc.) And I’d make friends with other addicts.
Come having children I stopped and only really restarted just before the pandemic. It was slow getting back into it. Having got used to the Guardian setters in the last month or so, I’ve started solving the FT and sometimes the Independent, and I’ve slowed down again as I don’t usually know the setters, their tricks or vocabulary.
If you notice there are often complaints about new or newer setters who use different techniques.
Excellent stuff.