Thank you to Basilisk for this morning’s challenge.
A very enjoyable puzzle. Generally I found the bottom half easier than the top, but got there in the end! Some clever misdirections and excellent surfaces, as expected from Basilisk.
SE[e] (witness, snubbed) by DATE (court)
(SOME T (time))* (*wasted) hosting R (queen) in A.M. (the morning)
R can be queen in the sense of ‘Regina’
PPE (gloves, masks and gowns); AND (as well as) trousers
Cryptic definition
Thatcher as Prime Minister would have selected/created the parliamentary cabinet
PRO (person voting for) + P[olicy] (introduction of)
TEE (support) + TRUNKS (underwear) worn by R (king)
R can be king in the sense of ‘Rex’
(DADDY SEEN)* (*dancing) around KEN (Barbie’s partner)
(GRADUATE FLED)* (*working)
(LIE)* (*about) + MINATOR[y] (threatening, almost)
Double definition
‘Mail’ or ‘chain mail’ is a type of armour
TAKE (assume) + “HE’D” (than man had, “said”)
F.E. (further education) + LINE (policy)
‘Pride’ as in the collective noun for lions
PAL (mate) + I.E. (that is) protecting SAD (low)
[somw]HERE SY[stematically] (suppressing)
Heresy might be an example of a ‘thoughtcrime’, hence the question mark. ‘Thoughtcrime’ is something conceived of in Orwell’s novel, 1984.
DOWN
STAMPED (impressed) + [no-on]E (ultimately)
DIPLOMA (academic paper) + T[hat] (opening)
Double definition
Something might ‘tone with’ something else, i.e. harmonise or match
Cryptic / double definition
‘Members’ referring to toes in the second part of the clue
Motors/cars ‘cycle’ or go round a race circuit
(SPIN (journey) encapsulating H (hard)) + X (times)
H (hospital) to charge TRUST (part of NHS)
G[reat] (leader of); BR (Britain) + INTO (keen on) + AHEAD (winning) cases
(EMIRS SIKHS)* (*involved)
(ALLIES)* (*bombing) stores E.G. (for example)
ADULTER (seemingly more mature) + [playbo]Y (last)
PEN (writer) + PUT< (state, <revolutionary)
Double definition
[ef]FETE (decadent, first couple to leave)
Very enjoyable, especially the four 12-letter answers running down and across the grid’s centre. The surface for 15A amused me.
Needed this blog to parse fully 18A though, as well as 11D. For me, ‘tone’ (3D) is more ‘harmonise’ than ‘match’ but close enough here, I think.
First time I’ve come across ‘trousers’ in this role; it’s normally ‘pants’ (APPEND).
Thanks to Basilisk an Oriel.
I think 6D is MOTOR (race) + CYCLE (circuit) &lit.
I think 3D might just as well be TUNE, cryptic(?) definition. I have never heard “tone with” as a synonym for “match [with],” but I am willing to concede that the usage could be the idiom somewhere.
I could not parse 11D, so thanks for unscrambling.
Diane @1. ‘Trousers’ is normal for an ‘inclusion’, whereas ‘pants’ denotes an ‘anagram’. Can’t say I’m familiar with ‘trunks’ as ‘underwear’.
Hovis@3: “Trunks” as men’s underwear is a (usually shorter) style of boxer briefs, a term used at least in the US.
I am flummoxed by trousers as an inclusion but a quick Google search has a brand of trousers called Append!
Good puzzle although I thought it was a stretch to get Dead Kennedys. Totally unknown to me and many others.
Thank you Basilisk for the fun puzzle and Oriel for an impressive blog.
SM @5. Trousers as a verb means ‘pocket’ and so ‘put inside’.
Thanks Hovis (@3, @6). I see that now!
Thank you Hovis too.
Thanks for the blog, very entertaining puzzle with a lot of neat wordplay . I always think of trousers as steals , which also works.
Thanks Basilisk. I found this on the tougher end of the Basilisk scale and I ended up revealing MOTORCYCLE, FELINE, and LEGALISE. There were many clues I liked including SEDATE, DEAD KENNEDYS, HERESY, STAMPEDE, DIPLOMAT, and SKIRMISHES. I didn’t spot a nina but I believe there’s a theme with DEAD KENNEDYS, GRATEFUL DEAD, and ELIMINATOR, an album by ZZ Top. There must be more but I’ve exhausted my knowledge on this. Thanks Oriel for the blog.
Was I the only person in the world to assume that 20D was obviously “copper”? It’s a perfectly good answer to the clue and I only realised it was wrong when it stymied the crossers. Otherwise up to Basilisk’s usual high standard. Nho “Dead Kennedys” but very guessable from the anagram.
I found this very hard. Bottom completed relatively straightforwardly but gave up with 60% at the top half completed.
I didn’t much enjoy, as some of the clues were a bit too obscure for me.
Thanks Oriel and Basilisk.
This was hard.
I had TUNE (verb) for 3d, ‘Match pitch’ being a cryptic definition, as in tune the piano.
I am not a music buff. Does that even make sense?
Sorry, Cineraria. I see that you have already raised this point.
Perplexus#11 Silver would have worked as well. I already had the “k” so the issue didn’t arisen. I liked the (topical) STAMPEDE.
When I got the ‘T’ for 3D I was delighted: it confirmed my suspicion (or so I thought) that it was TEST. (= [cricket] match and to ‘pitch’ and idea, to test it with an audience). So much for one ill-targeted spark of genius in a puzzle for which I otherwise made heavier-than-usual use of the ‘reveal’ function. Thanks for the blog!
Such a frustrating mixture of very excellent clues and really annoyingly dodgy ones.
23dn A festival is a festival and a fete is a fete. Two separate words with two separate meanings. They are not synonymous.
2dn Diploma = ‘academic paper’ hmm…
11dn Whipping something up isn’t the same as bringing something to a head. Whipping up support for something doesn’t necessarily lead to it being brought to a conclusion.
3dn just doesn’t work.
Rosemary @ 17
Chambers thesaurus gives festival and fete bidirectional support, so Basilisk is on safe ground
Similarly, the same thesaurus has for ‘whip up’ “stimulate, stir up, work up, agitate, excite, arouse, incite, inflame, kindle, instigate, provoke, foment”, which would seem to be close enough for a crossword
And if you get a diploma, you get a paper recording it
Agree with above. It was a relief to learn I was not alone in finding the top half difficult.
3D was the last one in and we tried to solve it during a walk. We rejected TONE, and thought it might be TUNE, but in the end we’re not confident of either conclusion. Perplexus @11 was not the only person to start 20D with COPPER.
I was not really on Basilisk’s wavelength, and felt the best clue was THATCHER for its groan quality.
Thanks Basilisk and Oriel.
Cineraria, ilippu and Martyn@2,13,19, I think you are correct – the right answer for 3d should be TUNE. It is a simple musical cryptic definition, the suggestion of football or cricket matches played on a pitch providing the necessary misdirection. I haven’t amended my answer; I will continue to assume that TONE is a typo. I enjoyed this puzzle. Favourites were the aforementioned 3d TUNE 🙂 , 13a TREE TRUNKS, and 10a THATCHER (for the “cabinetmaker”).
Thanks Anto and PeterO for the fun.
Oops, I meant Basilisk and Oriel. (Mixing up the FT and Guardian blogs.)
Many thanks to Oriel for the excellent blog and to everyone who has been kind enough to comment.
I have to confess that the intended answer for 3d is TONE, but I agree that TUNE is probably a better answer.
For what it’s worth, Stampede is a Doobie Brothers album, Eliminator is a ZZ Top album, Sphinx is an electronic band and also the title of many songs. There may be more.
I also had tune.
Thanks to Basilisk and Oriel.