I have not been one of the greatest fans of Anto’s puzzles but I enjoyed this one today, despite a few quibbles, noted within the blog.
There were some good anagrams at 14ac NO TIME TO LOSE, 22ac MAR(D)SUPIALS, 3dn SCALE MODEL and 13dn BON APPÉTIT, a clever triple definition at 28ac PUT DOWN, amusing definitions at 25ac UROLOGIST and 7dn THE ELBOW and a neat construction at 12ac LEO, my overall favourite. I also liked 18ac and 8dn and thought the surfaces were pretty smooth throughout.
Many thanks to Anto for the puzzle.
Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Support poles placed inside track (7)
SPONSOR
N S (poles) in SPOOR (track)
5 Surface of mine, which allows for quick maintenance (7)
PITSTOP
PIT’S TOP (surface of mine)
9 Broadcast rally includes some Roman stars (5)
ASTRA
Hidden in broadcAST RAlly – Latin for stars, as in the RAF motto ‘Per ardua ad astra’
10 Spooner understands badge is part of mast (5,4)
CROW’S NEST
KNOWS (understands) CREST (badge): this does not pass my Spooner test as producing two viable phrases
11 Negotiates to win tip for these servers (10)
BARTENDERS
BARTERS (negotiates) round END (tip)
I have long been irritated by the (mis)use of ‘barter’ to mean ‘bargain’, as I learned it in primary school, but have never got round to looking it up until today, when I found, as I dreaded, that Chambers has ‘to trade by exchange of commodities’ – followed by ‘to bargain over the terms of such an exchange’ and Collins ‘to trade (goods and services, etc) in exchange for other goods, services, etc rather than for money’ – followed by ‘to haggle over the terms of such an exchange’ – and so I must give up now, I suppose and, rather grudgingly, add this to my list of favourites
12 Imagine writer dropping names? It’s a sign (3)
LEO
(John) LE[nn]O[n] (writer of ‘Imagine’) minus n n n (names)
14 Exploding on some toilet — it’s a matter of urgency (2,4,2,4)
NO TIME TO LOSE
An anagram (exploding) of ON SOME TOILET
18 In theory, time for a period of study (8,4)
ACADEMIC
ACADEMIC (in theory, theoretical) + YEAR (time)
21 Work unit essential for creating synergies (3)
ERG
Contained in synERGies
22 Animals damaging a Paris slum (10)
MARSUPIALS
An anagram (damaging) of A PARIS SLUM
25 You can’t go when you see one, perhaps (9)
UROLOGIST
Cryptic definition
26 Correct setting for college to bring peace (5)
TRUCE
TRUE (correct) round C (college)
27 It’s touching when leader becomes married in absentia (7)
KISSING
When K (king – leader) – or ‘leader’ could simply indicate the initial letter – becomes ‘m’ (married) we get ‘missing’ (in absentia) – but the clue seems the wrong way round: I can’t quite fit ‘in absentia’ into the surface reading
kiss = touch as in snooker, for instance
28 Record destroyed? That’s an insult (3,4)
PUT DOWN
A clever triple definition, the third needing a hyphen
Down
1 Neglected super group almost forced into retiring (6)
SHABBY
ABB[a] (super group, almost) in SHY (retiring)
2 Published call for protest (6)
OUTCRY
OUT (published) + CRY (call)
3 Engineer made cellos and a smaller version (5,5)
SCALE MODEL
An anagram (engineer) of MADE CELLOS
4 Charged Conservative with expensive cover up (5)
RACED
A reversal (up, in a down clue) of DEAR (expensive) round C (conservative)
5 Good form of one paid to imbue king with devotion (9)
PROPRIETY
PRO (one paid) round R (king) in PIETY (devotion) – again, this seems the wrong way round: to imbue means to permeate or instil, so here it’s the devotion that’s being imbued by the king
6 Express disapproval about a chore (4)
TASK
TSK (express disapproval – although I can find this only as an exclamation rather than a verb eg ‘tut’) round A
7 This joint let’s you go, if you get it? (3,5)
THE ELBOW
Cryptic definition, referring to the euphemism, ‘We’re letting you go’, for ‘We’re firing you’ – giving you the elbow (sack)
There’s a rogue apostrophe in the clue, in both online and paper version
8 Access old information to discover source of disease (8)
PATHOGEN
PATH (access) O (old) GEN (information)
13 Enjoy consuming strange Tibetan pop (3,7)
BON APPÉTIT
An anagram (strange) of TIBETAN POP
15 One in congress bottling it but making an impression (9)
IMITATING
I (one) MATING (in congress) round (bottling) IT
16 Surprisingly, UK calmed by this ineffectual person (4,4)
LAME DUCK
An anagram (surprisingly) of UK CALMED
17 Doctor who thought suffering and bereavement were for the best (8)
PANGLOSS
PANG (suffering) + LOSS (bereavement) for Voltaire’s optimistic tutor of Candide – with an extended definition
19 He sang about game like this (6)
CARUSO
CA (circa – about) + RU (Rugby Union – game) + SO (like this) for the Italian opera singer
20 It’s behind the evacuation of Amiens, Toulouse and Rouen (6)
ASTERN
The outside letters (after evacuation) of A[mien]S, T[oulous]E and R[oue]N
23 Exercise allows one to delay retiring (3,2)
SIT UP
Double definition, the first needing a hyphen
24 Some points of interest raised in civic offices (4)
FOCI
A hidden reversal (raised, in a down clue) in civIC OFfices
Most enjoyable, thank you Anto. PANGLOSS was new to me, and I couldn’t parse LEO & PROPRIETY (both now d’oh!). Thanks Eileen.
I thought this was one of the setter’s best and less quirky than some of his other puzzles. I had way too many ticks but favourites were CROWS NEST, MARSUPIALS, UROLOGIST and BON APPETIT. There is surely an erroneous apostrophe in 7d. There seemed to be hint of toilet issues throughout but I doubt it’s a theme. PANGLOSS new To me as wel as GDU. Very enjoyable and reasonably tough.
Ta Anto & Eileen.
Concur with most of your quibbles, Eileen (but I thought I’d better try to be positive after my comment in Io’s FT puzzle!).
Agree with your doubts about PROPIETY, Eileen.
…and a slight typo in your intro for MARSUPIALS.
Thanks Anto and Eileen
While I understand your irritation about the negotiation meaning of barter, Eileen, the phrase ‘to trade by exchange of commodities‘ implies (to me at least) that negotiation is involved , as there isn’t usually a fixed exchange rate. “I’ll give you two of my widgets for four of yours.” “No, I want three.” “Oh, OK then, three it is.”
Thanks Anto and Eileen.
It wouldn’t be an Anto if there weren’t any quibbled. I think with the KISSING / MISSING, you have to play around a bit with different bits of punctuation to get the correct surface. For example (and I don’t claim this is correct):
It’s touching – when leader becomes married – in absentia
I whinged about this sort of thing (i.e. having to mess around with inserting punctuation) last week, but seemed to be in the minority on that occasion.
Sorry Eileen, there is an extra S in UROLOGIST. I’ll go away now, promise 🙂
AlanC @5
?
Simon S – yes, I have conceded on that one!
Wiktionary claims “tsk” can be a verb
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tsk
Loved UROLOGIST and THE ELBOW
Must put in the obligatory earworm. I think about this song each time I pass Tittenhurst Park, near Ascot ( the place where it was written on the famous white piano )
https://youtu.be/VOgFZfRVaww
Thank you Anto and Eileen.
Wow, a very tough one from Anto! I failed to solve 7d and 17d.
I did not parse 23d and for 5d I only got as far as PRO + R in PIETY.
Thanks, both.
AlanC @8 – UROLOGIST now corrected, thanks. Still puzzled by your comment @5 – and you seem to have been the victim of Muphry’s Law @4 😉
Thanks Anto and Eileen. 27a seems ok to me. It’s touching (definition). When leader becomes m(arried) (it’s) in absentia (missing). I don’t see a problem.
Eileen @9: there’s a rogue D in MARSUPIALS In your intro.
And a slight typo in your Propiety @4 Alan C
Eileen @12: touché 🙂
Thanks, Anto and Eileen!
AlanC is referring to MARDSUPIALS in your intro section.
Thanks Anto and Eileen
I’ve had to do this online today, so haven’t made notes. I raised an eyebrow at PANGLOSS, thinking that it wasn’t cryptic at all, just requiring fairly obscure GK. I totally missed the wordplay!
Eileen@12
😀
AlanC – thanks, I see it now.
@5 I think Alan C means MARDSUPIALS in your intro Eileen. Also, I think it should be LEO not LENNON.
Thanks to both.
i thought LEO a brilliant clue. I liked PANGLOSS, too, but that’s because I knew it!
Eileen MARDSUPIALS, in the intro, not in the clue
Favourite has to be NO TIME TO LOSE for a great connection between surface and answer. Also UROLOGIST made me smile, having undergone a TURP a year ago (you don’t want to know.
ACADEMIC YEAR was weak enough to put a question mark against it even after I’d written it in.
I share your reservations about PROPRIETY Eileen, and wondered whether “imbue” had a meaning I hadn’t come across, although I remember my fairly recent struggle with “inspire” as an inclusion indicator.
Oh dear – more carelessness. Thanks, trishincharente @21 and Dave Ellison @23 fixed now.
Sorry, crossed obviously, but I do appreciate your leaving the D in crossed out. Often a correction is made, to the bewilderment of later readers.
Thanks Eileen and Anto for what I thought was an easy offering
In my lexicon a supergroup is composed of artists who have already become famous in their own right. Chambers agrees, so I don’t think Abba count.
Oh, and I thought LEO was a clever clue.
Some good clues, and a couple that were a bit odd for one reason or another. LEO was excellent with the “Imagine” cleverly placed at the start so it has the capital I. NO TIME TO LOSE had a great surface. I agree that KISSING seems the wrong way around. I had thought 17d was a completely uncryptic definition, so thanks for pointing out the PANG and LOSS. Even so it’s a rather strange construction.
Many thanks Anto and Eileen.
[Not relevant to today’s puzzle, but Hugh Stephenson’s brief obituary of Nutmeg appeared in the Guardian on Monday. It is a nice piece, but I was a little surprised that it appeared in the “Other lives” section, which is where readers can submit tributes to family members, friends, colleagues and so on. This is what the Guardian says about this section: Obituaries pages traditionally describe and celebrate the lives of the great and good, the famous and infamous. There is another type of life that deserves noticing: people less in the public eye, or lives lived beyond formal recognition. To offer a piece to Other Lives, contact us here.
It seems the Guardian considers that a longstanding and much loved setter of its own crosswords is not sufficiently “in the public eye” to warrant a full obituary.]
PUT DOWN
Without a hyphen ‘put down’=’insult’ can work if we take them as verbs. We have to ignore ‘that’s an‘. Not sure it is generally done.
PROPRIETY
I had the same problem with the ‘imbue’.
THE ELBOW
When re-read the clue as THE ELBOW lets you go when you get it Or It lets you go when you get THE ELBOW.
Is the cryptic grammar all right Eileen?
SIT UP
The ‘allows one’ bit is somewhat odd.
@30
When re-read the clue is/becomes*
The NW held me up a bit, but overall this was thoroughly enjoyable. I got to CROWS NEST without difficulty, though I share Eileen’s doubts re how this works as a Spoonerism. I also liked LEO and BON APPETIT..which took me a while..It was also good to see PANGLOSS get an outing. It’s been many years since I read Candide. The Leibnizian mantra of Pangloss: “all is for the best” in the “best of all possible worlds”.
Lord Jim @29 – it’s good that Nutmeg’s obituary was eventually published in the paper, having appeared some time before online: like you, I’m surprised that Nutmeg did not warrant a full obituary.
I’m reminded that the same applied to Audreus, five years ago. She was a well-loved setter, the mother of Shed (John Young), another favourite of many of us. It was always good to see an Audreus puzzle, because it invariably meant that there would be a Shed the next day. John wrote a lovely ‘Other Lives’ tribute to his mother – see here:
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/2018/jul/13/audrey-young-obituary but I was sad to see it there, rather than in the main Obituary section.
John’s own obituary, last year, appeared only in Hugh Stevenson’s column.
https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/2022/may/12/john-young-obituary
Uneven puzzle with some splendid clues (for me: BARTENDERS, LEO, UROLOGIST, NO TIME TO LOSE, SCALE MODEL, MARSUPIALS) and others which don’t quite work, though based on good ideas (KISSING, PROPRIETY, PANGLOSS). And ACADEMIC YEAR is very weak.
So mixed emotions for me. Not everything for the best in the best of all possible crosswords. Sorry!
Nevetheless, thanks to Anto and (of course, Eileen)
poc @27 I was wondering about that, but the members of Abba had great success in their own country before coming together, so I think that counts.
I quite liked it and enjoyed several of the clues. I have to admit to not understanding THE ELBOW at 7d. Thanks to Anto and Eileen, and to fellow solvers for an interesting blog.
I enjoyed this although I, too, thought the clue for PROPRIETY was the wrong way round.
I liked PITSTOP for the mine’s surface, the good cd for UROLOGIST, and the surface for SHABBY. I failed to parse LEO, but now it’s been pointed out, I think it’s a great clue.
Thanks Anto and Eileen.
Since it seemed weak as a double definition, I wondered if SIT UP could somehow be formed by ‘allow’ being ‘put’, ‘delay’ as containment, and ‘retiring’ as reversal. But the first two of those seem rather tenuous.
Enjoyed this, but ACADEMIC YEAR isn’t clear enough: I had ACADEMIC TERM for quite a while. I also had the same quibble with “imbue” suggesting that the piety was in the king, rather than vice versa. No, it wasn’t TUT, it was TSK… tsk tsk! And ABBA are a super group, but not a supergroup.
We did Candide as part of one of my French courses, so I enjoyed PANG LOSS. Also had a smile at UROLOGIST and NO TIME TO LOSE, but my favourite was the neat LEO (even though I loathe the song).
I’m not one to usually find such clues ambiguous but, like Eileen, I felt that the clue led to “missing” not KISSING. I also enjoyed the anagrams, particularly NO TIME TO LOSE and BON APPÉTIT (both beautifully clued). I appreciated the compiler’s observation and creativity in spotting the Lennon to LEO construction – the sort of clue I use to entice the innocent and have them suckered in to our addiction!
But, for me, the stand out clue was ELBOW as it’s one I enjoyed
(Shame about the sloppy clueing of PROPRIETY and KISSING, and the weak ACADEMIC YEAR as this was very nearly a standout puzzle)
Many thanks both and all
Absolutely agree with Eileen about KISSING. The answer seemed obvious but it took me a while to parse it, because it doesn’t work! Agree also about PROPRIETY, though that seems less egregious, somehow, because the surface reads smoothly.
Not my favourite, overall. Even if we set aside the two mentioned above, there was too much variability in the standard of the clues. A lot of write-ins, one or two very clever – LEO unusually imaginative (!) for such a short answer – and some that just provoked a shrug.
muffin@18 Your suggestion that PANGLOSS represents “fairly obscure GK” interested me. When I was growing up a long time ago “panglossian” would be encountered quite often, and I think many of us knew the word, and what it meant, before we knew anything about Candide. But I can well imagine that many younger people will never have heard it, and won’t unless they read Voltaire or take an interest in crosswords.
[Charles @41
I remember the Head of Biology asking me in the Common Room what “panglossian” meant. He was rather embarrassed when I told him, as he knew “Candide” quite well, though by way of the Bernstein version!]
Nunitus@32 and Eileen
“crows nest ” = (k)nows crest but needs a k
Really do not like spoonerisms they are just lazy and rarely good
Thanks Anto and Eileen
This was all a bit ho-hum, oh well, solve and move on. Nothing to really get one’s teeth into or to really entertain or surprise. Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s the weather.
My only takeaway is to say “Tibetan Pop!” before a meal.
Thanks Anto and Eileen
drswirly@38
I tried something similar. 🙂
[Particular thanks to Eileen for now including the solutions (in capitals, of course!) rather than only the clue number, though I understand why she didn’t before as it saved those, who may wish to have a quick look at the blogger’s opinion before solving, from spoilers. I wonder if such people exist!
But thanks for setting the example; were everyone to adopt the unwritten(?) convention of spelling out the solution (in CAPITALS) then I would spend less time scrolling. As it is, 15² is usually more time consuming than the solve!]
gladys @39 (and poc @27 and ayeayebooks @35
I wasn’t aware of ‘supergroup’ being a thing and have only just looked it up. I was preoccupied with the earworm ‘Super Trouper’!
Nice puzzle. I enjoy Tibetan pop, it has an odd patient bop.
Simon S@6 – fun fact: while it’s generally true that barter involves a negotiation, from time to time societies have established and written down fixed “rates of exchange” (“six chickens for one goat”). There was one in Wales during the Dark Ages* but the details elude me at this moment.
*I know, they don’t call it the Dark Ages any longer. I’m old.
poc @27; apart from the fact that the clue says ‘super group’ not supergroup, Chambers says: ‘2. An internationally successful rock or pop group.’
Thanks to Anto for an accessible and enjoyable puzzle. Several ticks including UROLOGIST and BARTENDERS. Thanks also to Eileen for the blog.
I managed to get the anagrams, and also surprised myself by knowing how to figure out 20d.
Drew a blank everywhere else.
Is “game” always RU (rugby union)?
“Names” meaning multiple ‘n’ …holy smokes.
1a – I was trying to get two ‘p’ into the clue, from poles.
10a – complete bamboozlement.
4d – does the word “cover” play any part in the clue?
6d – I had TUTS, which annihilated any hope in NE corner!
I liked PANGLOSS and LEO. [Pangloss would be a good soubriquet for a blogger who could explain everything] [I like the coinage of MARDSUPIALS for a particularly whingy kind of Australian]
Thanks for explaining LEO; I put it in because it seemed the only thing that fit, but I could not parse it.
I would quibble about ABBA being a “super group”. Super group is a term referring to a band formed from members of other famous bands, such as CSNY, Blind Faith or the Travelling Wilburys. ABBA were never such a group.
Steffen @52: well done on those you solved. Few things are ‘always’ anything in crosswords but ‘game’ is certainly often indicating RU. Plurals like ‘names’ = multiple ‘n’s or ‘bishops’ = multiple ‘b’s etc are certainly fair game. ‘p’ is not an abbreviation for ‘pole’ – though you were clearly learning the lesson from ‘names’! The planet has two so it’s always worth looking to see if N/S is being signalled. 4d: yes – ‘cover’ is signalling that DEAR (= expensive) is containing (= covering) the C.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Anto – excellent puzzle. I’m a sucker for a good anagrams and you had a nice mix today. Thanks also to Eileen for the blog.
[Just to add to the debate In respect of 1D … I am not sure what the term ‘super’ brings to the party – the clue works without it. If it was intended to read ‘Supergroup’, I wouldn’t use that term to describe ABBA anyway. It’s use arose in the 1960’s as a way of describing high profile musical partnerships that were mostly short-lived]
Robi @50: That explains but doesn’t excuse the clue! Another duff def from Chambers. I sometimes suspect setters of trawling through that dictionary to find the most egregious examples. In fact, the ‘super’ is superfluous and has only served to incite mutterings.
[TimC@24. I’m surprised that you can smile when reminded of a TURP!]
Cispy@7. I know what you mean, but last week when there was an ambiguous clue [ for (M/F)ULL ] similar to (K/M)ISSING, the initial letter was not on a crossing square, whereas this one is, thus removing any doubt about the correct answer.
I’m surprised at the gripes about the Spoonerism. It seems to me to work just as well as “shoving leopard” to quote one of the original examples. And ‘super group’ was nicely misleading – I was looking for Cream to be involved somehow. 🙂
I agree that ACADEMIC YEAR seems a bit weak, and ‘imbue’ seems wrong in 5d, but I enjoyed this one for the most part: challenging and witty.
Thanks to Anto and Eileen.
Gervase@57. If the clue had just ‘group’ there would be “mutterings” (good word!) that it could be almost anything (see also ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ passim). Adding ‘super’ makes the clue specific, accurate and misleading. If this had been written by Tramp or Vlad it would have been showered with praise, but Anto seems to attract the opposite.
Tim@24.( I’ve just had a TURP. My goodness it wasn’t funny but comforting to know someone else has had one!) Thought this was a better one from Anto. Loved the elbow.Ta for blog
My favourite so far this week, probably because I seemed to be on Anto’s wavelength from my first write-in, LEO, until the end. Thanks Eileen for the excellent blog as always, and explaining what was going on in the clues I failed to parse fully, SPONSOR, KISSING and PANGLOSSIAN. I had the same thought on ‘super group’ as others, but considered it within bounds for a crossword clue. Thanks Anto for an entertaining puzzle.
Thanks Eileen and Anto! I share some of the quibbles but the string surfaces made it up for me.
Gervase @57; you’ll have to argue with the ODE as well for supergroup: ‘an exceptionally successful rock group or one formed by musicians already famous from playing in other groups.’ As I said before, the clue anyway says super group, maybe an allusion to the Abba hit ‘Super Trouper’? 🙂
sh @59: I agree that ‘group’ on its own could be accused of being too vague (even more than ‘girl’ or ‘boy’) but why ‘super’? It did point us in the direction of popular music – although ‘super group’ could be the Berlin Philharmonic or the Virgo Supercluster – but why not just the uncontroversial ‘pop group’?
Actually I wasn’t particularly exercised by this – it wasn’t one of the clues in my quibble list 🙂
I had the same quibbles as has been mentioned about KISSING, PROPRIETY, and PANGLOSS–with the latter, I thought it a totally non-cryptic definition, but now that it’s explained, the problem is that the wordplay is in the middle, not at either end. That’s not kosher. Easily fixed, too: try “Doctor who thought all was for the best, including suffering and bereavement.”
Anyway, there is a showtune for everything.
When I read super group I immediately thought ABBA, because of Super Trouper. Maybe that is what Anto intended.
G@64. “…why not just the uncontroversial ‘pop group’?” Well, because ‘super’ was (potentially pleasantly) misleading, perhaps. And ‘pop group’ would be just boring. 🙂
As I mentioned @59, people seem to enjoy being misled by the likes of Tramp and Vlad, why not Anto too?
…and what Trish said too!
Found this mostly a pleasurable solve, with lots of helpful anagrams. But held up in SE corner as I couldn’t quite fathom how pencilled in SIT UP, CARUSO or TRUCE worked exactly. Last one in the unknown to me Dr PANGLOSS…
No quibbles, just enjoyment. Thanks, Anto.
I did wonder how many solvers would know PANGLOSS, but no trouble to me as I read Candide at A-level and at university, then taught it at A-level.
Thanks Anto, I Iiked this quite a bit. My top picks were BARTENDERS, NO TIME TO LOSE (great Paulesque surface), the much maligned ACADEMIC YEAR, TRUCE, and BON APPETIT. I couldn’t fully parse PROPRIETY, PANGLOSS, or LEO. Now that I see it, LEO is an outstanding clue. Thanks Eileen as always.
All the members of ABBA had music careers pre-ABBA, so the soubriquet ‘supergroup’ fits quite well.
[GDU @3: I attempt all FT crosswords except those set by Io. He’s way beyond my orbit.]
[sheffield hatter @67: Surely you know that Vlad and Tramp have been canonized by this blog while Anto hasn’t even been beatified yet. ]
sheffield hatter @59: I totally agree. I feel like one of a small group who has defended Anto from the early days.
Anto continues their improvement with a second v good puzzle in as many weeks. Small quibble about the “super” in 1D but there’s nothing dodgy or unfair. Don’t get why so many others see ACADEMIC YEAR as week, seems perfectly serviceable to me.
Friend of mine refers to being given the Spanish archer.
By the bye, is anyone else having a difficulty getting onto Big Dave?
Thanks both.
Very typical of my solving ability. About a third filled in in my first pass then an hour later and I can’t get another clue.
[Sympathy for all TURP survivors. While admitted for a heart thing, the resident urologist canvassed me. I declined, and am still managing …]
lg @ 78 I’ve just tried and it worked fine. I do remember though that last week there was a post there about it changing ISPs or something (it’s connected with BD’s family letting the site continue even though BD is no longer with us).
This is what I just used.
Fingal@77 – 🙂 – had to Google it to get the joke.
I’m also locked out. Account suspended 🙁
Lovely to see Anto getting some approbation … . And the El Bow.
For KISSING, I’d punctuate as follows:
It’s touching (when leader becomes married: in absentia).
…maybe an em dash would serve as well. But the surface gets lost in the detail…
My LOI was PANGLOSS – though I’d heard the name, couldn’t remember where it came from – and I thought the “were for the best” was superfluous. Now I realise it makes for an &lit, sort of.
BARTER meaning ‘bargain’ or ‘haggle’? I also used to have doubts – I thought it simply means to exchange goods without money. But I now remember: once, years ago, on a holiday in what was then Yugoslavia, we were advised by the tour guide to be sure to ‘barter’ when buying souvenirs at the local Roma market – otherwise we’d be fleeced. I wasn’t sure it was the right word, so I asked her, should it be ‘haggle’? She said no, ‘barter’ can have the same meaning.
Funny how these long-lost memories pop up when you’re doing a crossword!
Must admit, Anto isn’t my favourite setter either, but this was worthy of attention.
Thanks to Eileen and Anto.
Quite enjoyed this.
I had similar reservations about the KISSING wordplay, but I think PROPRIETY works well, since Collins online has soak as a (rare) synonym of imbue. In that sense, the wordplay works well.
LEO was very good, although for some reason, in my mind, I’d misspelled Lennon as Lenon. Maybe I was remembering Vladimir Ilyich’s greatest hits instead?
Thanks, Anto and Eileen.
Fingal@77: :O
Postmark@55: Very kind of you.
(Thanks both.)
:0 ?
😀
Thanks for John LE(nn)O(n), Eileen, I couldn’t IMAGINE how to parse LEO.
I couldn’t understand about the MARS(D)UPIALS, glad I got to an explanation as I read down the blog.
I’m with the commenters — “imbue” means be or go inside, as in “Come blade, my breast imbrue,” by the suicidal Thisbe in A
Midsummer Night’s Dream. The king is inside the devotion, though he may be filled with it as well. And why not a queen?
Steffen@52 “Game” may also be GO.
Eileen, see my very late comment yesterday on BUSTER/WEBSTER, intended for you as our resident classicist.
Thanks, Anto and Eileen
I’ve been out since lunchtime, so I’ve been scanning comments since then – surprised to see so much discussion re ‘super group’, after Robi @50 and my own reference to ‘Super Trouper’…
… but really only coming in now to wonder about Valentine’s comment from yesterday: ‘I think BUSTER exists only in the vocative singular.’ ??
I’m ready for bed now – I was up early this morning!
Having had a minor musical career before being in a band does not make a supergroup, or else nearly every band in existence would be a supergroup.
Chris @ 92 a ‘super group’ as per the clue does not have to be a ‘supergroup’.
What I meant, Eileen, is that I think Buster is used only as a form of address, like, say, “sirrah” in an earlier time.
[sheffield hatter @58, Cedric @60, grantinfreo @80 and any other old blokes considering a TURP, I’d recommend it. It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting and the results for me were well worth it]
Flea@10 (and Eileen)
‘Wiktionary claims “tsk” can be a verb’
…it also allows “sit up” and even “situp” for the exercise.
Thanks for the EarWorm of Imagine by LENNON, Flea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagine_(John_Lennon_song)
I dont’t know how anyone could possibly “loathe the song” (qv) – maybe for “trite silliness” – but it’s far subtler:
John’s (and Yoko’s – she gets belated co-writing credit) paean to peace and love
can also be interpreted as subversive, communist – “no possessions”, and atheist “no religion”
‘Guinness World Records British Hit Singles Book named it the second-best single of all time’ – What was Number One?
COTD
Thanks Anto & Eileen & Flea