One of those where most answers were easily solved leaving a bunch mostly in the top left corner which I found tricky.
What is it about the top left corner?
Maybe that’s where setters end up using their best clues.
Solving: First pass left 7 to go. Then clobber another 4. After a break get the last 3. During blogging, correct 20d from Driver to Drivel.
As usual, some fine surface readings throughout the puzzle.
| Across | ||
|---|---|---|
| 8 | BALLAD | Screw a party, Osborne initially going for a song (6) BALL (screw) A DO (a party) – O[sborne] |
| 9 | CURRENCY | Tender arse? Cry out: “stuffed by English knight!” (8) CUR (arse) then (CRY)* AInd: out, around E[nglish] N (knight, chess notation) |
| 11 | ORGAN TRANSPLANT | Member put in another bed (change of heart?) (5,10) |
| 12 | EYESTRAIN | Magazine’s to teach first hint of being an habitual wanker? (9) EYE’S (Magazine’s) TRAIN (to teach). Tongue in cheek def. – everyone knows it’s hairs on the palm of your hands. One of the last few in – misled by “first hint” seeming to be wordplay (H[int]) I was trying to get a magazine to fit the whole answer. |
| 13 | SOLAR | Sun-originated sex alternative ensnaring city (5) S[un], OR (alternative) around LA (city) |
| 14 | ESTEEM | Reckoning bloke’s lost head over fox hunting event (6) [h]E’S (bloke’s, lost head) MEET< (fox hunting event, over) |
| 16 | STRIDE | In tatters, Trident advance (6) Hidden in tatterS TRIDEnt |
| 19 | OPIUM | “Oui, about to assume power” (May’s opener – dope!) (5) OUI around P[ower], then M[ay] |
| 20 | DESPERADO | Outlaw dead awful peers associated with a party (9) D[ead] (PEERS)* AInd: awful, A DO (a party) |
| 22 | REPUBLICAN PARTY | Turn appreciably dodgy – it’s keeping Trump in power (10,5) (TURN APPRECIABLY)* AInd: dodgy |
| 24 | PINOCHET | Autocratic president‘s measure to restrain opposition’s chief Latin leftie (8) PINT (measure) around O[pposition] CHE (Latin leftie) |
| 25 | CAUCUS | Group of political decision-makers said “we’d like a bung from you” (6) Homophone: “Cork us” |
| Down | ||
| 1 | ABDOMEN | America’s leader needs second-rate party guys from which shit originates (7) A[merica] B (second rate) DO (party) MEN (guys) First read and first one in |
| 2 | PLAGUE | Briefly place old Tory leader: “not hot – big nuisance” (6) PL[ace] [h]AGUE |
| 3 | MAINSTREAM | A minister casually dropping one in the morning: that’s not abnormal (10) (A MINISTER – I)* AInd: casually, then A.M. (morning) Last one in. Certainly needed all crosses before this clue clarified. |
| 4 | TURN-ON | Spin working, which gets you randy? (4-2) TURN (spin) ON (working) |
| 5/23 | DROP BACK | Lose ground, lose erection, lose love – end! (4,4) DROOP (lose erection) – O (lose love) BACK (end) |
| 6 | UNHAILED | Hauled in, processed, not given the Caesar treatment (8) (HAILED IN)* AInd: processed |
| 7 | MYSTERY | Well, rest disturbed by the ultimate in Jimmy Riddle (7) MY (well!), (REST)* AInd: disturbed, [jimm]Y |
| 10 | ORGASM | A coming of gold fuel on Motorway (6) OR (gold) GAS (fual) M[otorway] |
| 13 | SCREENPLAY | Potential film protection put on prince before shag (10) SCREEN (protection) P[rince] LAY (shag) |
| 15 | SHIPPING | Despatching husband into drinking (8) H[usband] in SIPPING (drinking) |
| 16 | SASHAY | Showy walking band with “PM’s lost lead” (6) SASH (band), [m]AY |
| 17 | CORRUPT | I say rogue Trump has lost millions – unethical (7) COR (I say!) (TRU[m]P)* AInd: rogue |
| 18 | TORYISM | Practised by May & co: “To awful misery, drained of energy” (7) TO, (MIS[e]RY )* AInd: awful |
| 20 | DRIVEL | Maybe cabbie changes political allegiance? Bollocks! (6) DRIVER (cabbie, maybe) Changing R for L. Frankly this could be taken the other way around to deliver DRIVER as the answer – without the last letter checked it’s dubious. |
| 21 | AFRICA | Corbyn’s principal affair (abandoning female) rattled the continent (6) C[orbyn] (A[f]FAIR)* AInd: rattled |
Nurse! Nurse! Where are you taking me?
………… To the morgue.
The morgue? But I’m not dead yet!
………… We’re not there yet.
[ Russian joke nicked from Radio 4’s “Seriously…” podcast (documentary thread) “100 years of Russian Satire” http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05jk5tg ]
Frustrated to miss out on ‘mystery’ and ‘currency’…. haven’t failed for a long time. Loved ‘eyestrain’ although in my day, wanking made you deaf. Someone would mumble in one’s direction and when one said ‘what?’. the reply would be “wanking makes you deaf”.
I disagree that 11 is a double Def. The wordplay is ‘member’=organ ‘move to another bed’=transplant (as in gardening)
Tony
Hi Tony. I agree I will correct that.
The image of the solution has a typo at 23D. I initially thought I’d got the answer wrong