A rollicking entry from Slormgorm today . . .
. . . nothing too strenuous, and I did get a genuine chuckle out of several of the clues.
| ACROSS | ||
| 1 | COLONEL BLIMP |
Rigged poll, one with climb for Trump, say (7,5)
|
| Anagram of (rigged) {POLL + ONE + CLIMB}, here, I think, perhaps intended in the sense of “the honorary commander of a military corps,” although President Trump is in fact Commander-in-Chief, but perhaps also a reference to his jingoism. I am not sure I completely understand this one. | ||
| 10 | OPENING |
Jumbo pen in German stores or The Gap? (7)
|
| Hidden in (stores) [JUMB]O PEN IN G[ERMAN], with a capitalization misdirection | ||
| 11 | AMATEUR |
You punching a GM, perhaps, is unprofessional (7)
|
| U (you) inside (punching) {A + MATER (GM, perhaps, i.e., Grand Master, in chess)} | ||
| 12 | TARSI |
Structural supports built into altar sides (5)
|
| Hidden in (built into) [AL]TAR SI[DES]. Not the first definition that springs to mind, but . . . | ||
| 13 | UPHOLDER |
Excited by hot senior in Wonderbra, possibly (8)
|
| UP (excited) + H (hot) + OLDER (senior), speaking of structural supports . . . | ||
| 15 | ASHEN-FACED |
Front of aluminium fences had turned very pale (5-5)
|
| Anagram of (turned) {first letter of (front of) A[LUMINIUM] + FENCES HAD} | ||
| 16 | TRIP |
‘Take LSD’ is helpful advice, Republican admitted (4)
|
| R (Republican) inside (admitted) TIP (helpful advice) | ||
| 18 | IDLE |
Lazy person people greatly admire on radio (4)
|
| Homophone of (on radio) IDOL (person people greatly admire) | ||
| 20 | BARENTS SEA |
Wild beasts near wet patch of earth (7,3)
|
| Anagram of (wild) BEASTS NEAR | ||
| 22 | TURNCOAT |
Renegade performer with company a pest ultimately (8)
|
| TURN (performer) + CO. (company) + A + last letter of (ultimately) [PES]T | ||
| 24 | IDEAL |
Slormgorm had ecstasy together with a large model (5)
|
| I’D (Slormgorm had) + E (ecstasy) + A + L (large) | ||
| 26 | OPERATE |
Old judge getting to grips with training in work (7)
|
| {O (old) + RATE (judge)} around (getting to grips with) PE (training) | ||
| 27 | ASPHALT |
One by the kerbside idiot with vice picked up (7)
|
| Homophones of (picked up) ASS (idiot) + FAULT (vice) | ||
| 28 | SNOW LEOPARDS |
After swimming about, do prawns lose ounces? (4,8)
|
| Anagram of (after swimming about) DO PRAWNS LOSE | ||
| DOWN | ||
| 2 | ON EARTH |
The devil is here! (2,5)
|
| Double/cryptic definition, the first equating a phrase such as “how on earth” with “how the devil.” Very clever | ||
| 3 | OPINIONS |
They can make people cry about religious beliefs (8)
|
| ONIONS (they can make people cry) around (about) PI (religious) | ||
| 4 | EDGE |
Border collie pulled dog sledge finally (4)
|
| Last letters of (finally) [COLLI]E + [PULLE]D + [DO]G + [SLEDG]E | ||
| 5 | BLASPHEMER |
One who swears bars help me to get drunk (10)
|
| Anagram of (to get drunk) BARS HELP ME | ||
| 6 | IDAHO |
I laugh, having got American lawyer in a state (5)
|
| {I + HO (laugh)} around (having got) DA (American lawyer) | ||
| 7 | PLEADER |
Advocate of premier with power going to head (7)
|
| P (power) + LEADER (premier) | ||
| 8 | CONTRADICTION |
Denial made by conservative in Tory convention (13)
|
| C (Conservative) inside (in) {CON. (Tory) + TRADITION (convention)} | ||
| 9 | PRE-RAPHAELITE |
Heartier apple crumbles for a painterly type (3-10)
|
| Anagram of (crumbles) HEARTIER APPLE | ||
| 14 | BANANA PEEL |
Yellow type that might give you the slip? (6,4)
|
| Cryptic definition | ||
| 17 | ETHIOPIA |
Heroin-packed opiate I shot being a state (8)
|
| H (heroin) inside (-packed) anagram of (shot) {OPIATE I} | ||
| 19 | LARKERS |
Singer with Queen and soprano can be mischief-makers (7)
|
| LARK (singer) + ER (Queen) + S (soprano) | ||
| 21 | STEWARD |
Cook will have way with a flight attendant (7)
|
| STEW (cook) + A + RD (way, i.e., road) | ||
| 23 | CHADŌ |
Tea ceremony in African country close to Morocco (5)
|
| CHAD (African country) + last letter of (close to) [MOROCC]O, specifically the Japanese tea ceremony. I do not see this listed in Chambers, but the wordplay is clear enough. | ||
| 25 | HALO |
Stop making primarily terrific love to get ring (4)
|
| HAL[T] (stop) exchanging (making) O (love) for first letter of (primarily) T[ERRIFIC] |
There seemed to be a lot of anagrams, reducing the variety and making it quite easy. But I love clever anagrams, and there were some amusing clues (as noted), so no complaints.
Best clues for me were SNOW LEOPARDS and ON EARTH.
LOI was TARSI as I am not familiar with the word, but it seemed blindingly obvious once I had solved it. I had the same question as the blog about COLONEL BLIMP. I am sure someone closer to the Col. will fill us in. Finally, I can confirm CHADO is in fact Japanese for tea ceremony whether it is in Chambers or not.
Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria
I didn’t get ASPHALT as the homophone didnt work for me. I’ve always pronounced it ash felt, which I admit, bears little relationship to its spelling. I don’t understand turn/performer, nor the mater in AMATEUR. Couldn’t get HALO. Is there a reason for the “or” in the clue for OPENING?
It took me a while to understand ON EARTH, but when the penny dropped I rather liked it.
GDU@2: One definition of turn is “a performer’s act or the performer,” as on a stage.
A “mater” is a chess player who achieves a checkmate.
“Or” in the clue for OPENING functions as “=.”
As for “ash-felt”: Fascinating.
Thanks, Cineraria.
I think ash felt is the way most of us in Oz say it, but one of my compatriots may beg to differ.
Good stuff, thanks all.
Bemused by 1a. Is blimp an allusion to the huge baby trump inflatable which demonstrators had when he visited London?
Liked upholder, ashen faced, snow leopards, pre-raphaelite.
A nice gentle start to the day after yesterday’s much trickier one, with almost all the across clues going in on the first pass. I assume 1a is in the sense of a reactionary jingoist – which Trump certainly is – although it doesn’t quite feel apposite, perhaps because he’s so very American. Couldn’t parse 2d (and personally not that keen on it now I see how it works, but I can see that’s a minority opinion).
Thanks both.
My take on 2d is that it « what the devil and what on earth ? »
I agree with James P about the Trump balloon.
Enjoyed this . It was a swift solve.
Thanks to Slormgorm and Cineraria.
I thought that Colonel Blimp referred to the old Evening Standard cartoon character, being a pompous oaf who makes confused pronouncements on current issues. Seems to fit the bill!
Chambers defines BLIMP as (1) an incurably conservative elderly military officer, as Colonel Blimp of the cartoonist David Low (1891-1963), or any other person of similar views (2) a non-rigid dirigible lighter-than-air craft used for observing, advertising, etc. As others have suggested, 1a might be alluding to either or both of these but, if so, I think it’s a bit vague.
Not this one, GDU @4, always ash felt here too.
Thanks Slormgorm and Cineraria
27ac: The necessary pronunciation for asphalt is in Collins 2023 p 117. I think this needs to be taken as a single soundalike, not two separate ones.
23dn: chado n the Japanese tea ceremony is also in Collins (p 341).
Trump is not blimpish in the David Low sense: he may be reactionary but he is not an English old soldier pontificating irrelevantly.
Life and death of Colonel Blimp by Powell and Pressburger is a masterpiece based on the Low cartoons and strongly recommended. Trump is no blimp in that sense either.
So I think there is a word missing in the wordplay meaning colonel. If trump = blimp qua hot air balloon the rank is not included.
In reply to Cineraria’s blog and to GDU@4 and grantinfreo@10, I pronounce ASPHALT as ash-fault, although I don’t know if this is typical of Canadians in general.
As always, an excellent and fun puzzle from Slormgorm and an excellent blog from Cineraria. With thanks.
1ac: Collins 2023 p 219 has the following:
blimp² n (often capital) chiefly Brit a person, esp a military officer, who is stupidly complacent and reactionary. Also called: Colonel Blimp
I think there is enough wriggle room there to allow the “esp a military officer”, meaning that a blimp does not have to be military, to go across to the phrase “Colonel Blimp” and hence allow “Trump, say” to be a valid definition by example for the full answer COLONEL BLIMP.
2dn I am not happy with the first part of this clue. I can accept that how on earth equals how the devil, but I do not think it is a valid deduction from that to say that on earth equals the devil. I am of course open to an alternative explanation that would work.
PB@14: Look toward the end of the entry for “earth” in Chambers, under the phrase “on earth,” suggesting the equivalency of such expressions, as oaths or intensifiers.
Cineraria@15: Thank you for that. Chambers 2016 p 485 certainly has “on earth used for emphasis in phrases such as how on earth, why on earth, etc”. But that does not go far enough to convince me. I would need to see a similar entry for the devil, which I could not find in Chambers.
Actually, we can do better from Collins 2023 which has
p 547 under devil: 22 the devil! (intensifier) a used in such phrases as what the devil, where the devil, etc
p 622 under earth: 13 on earth used as an intensifier in such phrases as what on earth, who on earth,etc.
Does the fact that both phrases can be used as intensifiers in the same context mean that they are able to define each other? I think I am ready to say yes to that.
2dn. Hell on earth?
@17 M.J. Reardon 2dn, maybe caused by subject of 1ac?
A lot of very pedestrian clues and a sprinkling of few utter rubbish ones.
Trump = Colonel Blimp? Really?
2dn simply doesn’t work as a clue
Ounce = snow leopard is far too obscure.
Ounce = Leopard is obscure but it is a staple of cryptic crosswords. I have never encountered it in any other context. And I don’t get the Trump/Colonel Blimp thing either