A tricky puzzle from Monk.
This was very enjoyable to solve, but I needed extra time on some of the trickier constructions. I found the name ‘George’ running down right of centre of the grid, and tried to work out a theme/nina but could not see much beyond that! Many thanks to Monk for a good puzzle.
DOLLY* (*mistakenly)
Marie Lloyd sang the popular British music hall song, ‘Don’t dilly dally on the way’, in 1919.
FLAG (tire) + STAFF (employees)
‘Blue Peter’ is a nautical flag, raised by a ship to show it is about to leave port
IL (Israel, ISO code) by A + H (hotel, NATO alphabet) in SW1 (Kensington?)
SW1 is a London postcode area in South West London, and a small part of Kensington is within SW1. I think there are better ways to refer to SW1, but won’t grumble too much
Cryptic definition
Given the ‘left’ (Labour Party) is currently in power in the UK, present-day Tories (Conservative Party, centre-right) want them out
(DEALING with SO (half of so-so))* (*cast)
[au]THOR N[aively] (pens)
We also, unusually, have two definitions
MILL (box, as in fight with fists) + NO. 1< (number one, <withdrawn)
TO + AGE (date) includes N, N (a couple of unspecified numbers)
OR (military men, other ranks) in STAGE (field of action)
STRAITS* (*dire)
AID (help) to catch P[riggis]H (inane)
‘Inane’ comes from the Latin word ‘inanis’ meaning ’empty’. We tend to use it differently in the modern day but it is correctly synonymous with ’empty’, in the sense of void of purpose/substance.
A (American) + R (Republican) covering up DIE (fail) by BRIG (US naval prison)
ROAR (bellow) about LLB (legal graduate)
A roll bar is part of a car’s frame serving as protection to the occupants if it were to overturn
[Colorad[O (back in) + DESERT* (*base)
WOME[n] (females, mostly) tackling HOLES (difficult situations)
W (wife) that’s left LA[w]YER (attorney)
Bed/layer can be synonyms in geology
LASS (miss) going around PALMA (Balearic capital, of Mallorca)
Double/cryptic definition
DING[o] (wild dog, with raised tail)
‘With raised tail’ tells us to take the last letter (tail) and ‘raise it’ or bring it higher up in the down clue word
IS< (<returning) + AN (article) after FRI (one day)
AIN’T (isn’t, commonly) restricting [c]L[i]M[b]E[r] (at intervals)
SAFE (peter) + NET (clear of all charges) including T[otall]Y (void)
MOROS[e] (sullen, for the most part) amongst AA (teetotallers, Alcoholics Anonymous)
F[eel] U[ncomfortable] T[urning] O[ver] N[ew] (starts to)
LINE* (*scrawled) around (DI[al] (half of clock face) in AU (gold) and B (black))
RIDER (legal clause); EASY (presenting few difficulties) initially
O[ver-confiden]T (extremely) + HELLO (greeting)
OGRE< (bad-tempered sort, <upset) about MBA (business qualification)
DIP (creamy mixture) covered by [l]A[r]O[u]S[s]E (off and on)
SIFT (examine in detail) + L[epros]Y (case of); W (with) probes
[n]ARROW (thin, remove cap from)
PR (publicity section) in AIL (trouble)
Thanks Oriel. liked it despite an absence of really good anagrams and too many ‘understand after writing in/read 225″. Agree SW1 is geographically much better defined by other parts of London rather than Kensington. Never Heard of Marie Lloyd or Oersted. But so far a good week from the FT!
A good puzzle indeed and a blog to match. Thank you Monk and Oriel.
OERSTED was a jorum.
Connect George to 1 across