I have to admit to leaving this blog to the last minute, due to imminent-holiday preparations, so the solving process is a little hazy…but in hindsight it seems all up to scratch for a Cyclops…
…although hopefully the scratch wasn’t caused by the surface read of 20D – EXCUSE me!…
There seemed to be a preponderance of anagrams and partial anagrams, but such a variety and appositeness of anagram indicators that keeps the surface reads solid – a ‘resort’ in JORDAN; GETS ‘crushed’; ‘stupid’ ARSE; DIRE ‘alternative’; RICH ‘bastard’…
Also some nice definitions – a ‘web developer’ as SPIDER-Y; a CONSPIRACY as ‘intriguing activity’; ‘short hose’ for ANKLE SOCKS; and surface reads: ‘Rich bastard Trump’s final Tweet‘, before he left and set up his own version; ‘Stupid arse Ted Cruz, extremely “fake”‘ – more American politics, but on the money.
But, for me, the COF (clue of the fortnight), has to be the ‘number-two performer’ dropping the leading letter to make a singer for RAPPER…maybe a coincidence, but I challenge Cyclops to fit a ‘beer magnet’ in, one day (;+>):
I did wonder if we were heading for a pangram, with X, Z, J, K, Y all appearing in the bottom half, but in the end we were short by F, Q and V,
All in all, and as I have said many times before, good Cyclops-ean fun, with thanks to our setter, and I trust all is clear below…
| Across | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
||
| 1A | PROJECT | Campaign for aircraft to absorb carbon (7)
PRO (for) + JE_T (aircraft) around (absorbing) C (carbon) |
||
| 5A | PROBITY | Integrity shown by political leader, Nick and one disheartened Tory (7)
P (leading letter of Political) + ROB (nick) + I (one) + TY (disheartened TorY) |
||
| 10A | CONSPIRACY | Politicians on theft: “Intriguing activity!” (10)
CONS (Conservatives, politicians) + PIRACY (theft) |
||
| 11A | DEEP | Bass pissed about (4)
PEED (pissed), reversed (about) = DEEP |
||
| 12A | NEWS | See 27ac. (4)
see 27A |
||
| 13A | POPULARITY | Turning up to be recruited by Opposition – not enjoyed by present government (10)
PO_LARITY (opposition, in a magnetic field sense?) around (recruiting) PU (up, turning) |
||
| 15A | WONDER | Was a successful candidate a socialist on reflection? Miracle! (6)
WON (was a successful candidate) + DER (red, socialist, on reflection) |
||
| 17A | INGEST | Scoff: “All the rage gets crushed!” (6)
IN (all the rage, popular) + GEST (anag, i.e. crushed, of GETS) |
||
| 19A | IN TOTO | Entirely a fan of Tony? Only 50% (2,4)
IN_TO (a fan of) + TO (half of TOny) |
||
| 20A | ERSATZ | Stupid arse Ted Cruz, extremely “fake” (6)
ERSA (anag, i.e. stupid, of ARSE) + TZ (outer, or extreme, letters of Ted cruZ) |
||
| 22A | ANKLE SOCKS | Loses knack, screwing in short hose (5,5)
anag, i.e. screwing, of LOSES KNOCK |
||
| 24A | ISLE | Man from Oasis left? (4)
hidden word in, i.e. from, ‘oasIS LEft’ |
||
| 25A | TROT | Extreme left-winger with tense balls (4)
T (tense) + ROT (rubbish, balls) |
||
| 27A | YESTERDAYS (NEWS) | & 12 Way to dance with teensy dress and old hat (10,4)
anag, i.e. to dance, of WAY + TEENSY DRESS |
||
| 28A | ADJOURN | Put off by uranium dumped in Jordan’s resort (7)
ADJO_RN (anag, i.e. resort, of JORDAN) around U (uranium) |
||
| 29A | SPIDERY | Description of web developer‘s spot with dire ‘alternative’ content (7)
SP_Y (spot, see) around (containing) IDER (anag, i.e. alternative, of DIRE) |
||
| Across | ||||
| Clue No | Solution | Clue (definition underlined)
Logic/parsing |
||
| 2D | RHODES | Holiday island‘s despised colonialist (6)
double def’n – RHODES is a Greek island, popular with holidaymakers from the UK; and Cecil RHODES was a colonialist, nowadays much despised by many |
||
| 3D | JUST STOP OIL | Fair to arrest crude, disruptive group? (4,4,3)
JUST (fair) + STOP (arrest, halt) + OIL (crude) |
||
| 4D | CHIRP | Rich bastard Trump’s final Tweet (5)
CHIR (anag, i.e. bastard, of RICH) + P (trumP’s final letter) |
||
| 6D | ROYALTIES | Like Harry draws income from TV series, etc. (9)
ROYAL (like Harry, although he is more of an ex-royal, these days?) + TIES (draws) |
||
| 7D | BAD | See 26dn. (3)
see 26D |
||
| 8D | TREATISE | Paper is at mischief to break Rowan? (8)
TRE_E (rowan, example of a tree) around (broken by) ATIS (anag, i.e. mischief, of IS AT) |
||
| 9D | RAPPER | Number two performer drops lead singer (6)
( |
||
| 14D | RIGHT-MINDED | Fit and looked after, as Republican true-believers consider themselves? (5-6)
RIGHT (fit, proper) + MINDED (looked after) |
||
| 16D | DOOMSAYER | Mayor does broadcast: expect a bad prediction from him (9)
anag, i.e. broadcast, of MAYOR DOES |
||
| 18D | ENSNARED | Doctor nears end – a captive of gin? (8)
anag, i.e. doctor, of NEARS END [gin in the sense of trap, rather than alcohol] |
||
| 20D | EXCUSE | Pardon shagging failing to start: penis tip’s stuck in shaft (6)
( [what to say about this one?!] |
||
| 21D | PLAYER | Actor, one banging under piano (6)
P (piano) + LAYER (one who lays, or bangs – in a sexual context) |
||
| 23D | SHEEP | Timid type coming into the reckoning in bed? (5)
&lit-ish/double defn? – a SHEEP can be a timid type; and one might count, or reckon, SHEEP in bed, to try to go to sleep |
||
| 26D | TOO (BAD) | & 7 Kickback taken by a Democrat? Deplorable (3,3)
TOO_B (boot, or kick, back) + A + D (Democrat) |
||
Thanks for a great blog, very typical Cyclops , very high standard. I thought POPULARITY was very neat , Opposition is fine for polarity in a magnetic sense or electric charges, good to see the “up” being turned instead of being an instruction. ANKLE SOCKS a very good anagram.
Minor glitch in the blog for JUST STOP OIL , mixed up the capitals for the first word.
Thanks for the blog, and thanks as ever to cyclops.
I had all but 9D, plus I wasn’t sure about ISLE – only upon reading this did it click that it’s “… of Man” rather than “no man is an…” (which would mean the clue was missing “no”).
My only quibble was deplorable – to me this means “very bad” rather than TOO BAD.
Interesting use of “by” in 26ac, ADJOURN: [Definition] by (means of) [Wordplay].
In his discussion of linkwords on his now-defunct website (but possibly accessible in archive via the Wayback Machine?), the late, great Neil Shepherd, aka Alberich (++), lamented the fact that some editors wouldn’t allow this use of ‘by’, and made quite a compelling case why it should in fact be allowed — one that Cyclops clearly agrees with.
PS If anyone here is adept at tracking down defunct websites on the archive, there is a rather interesting one, apparently abandoned some years ago, by a certain Eddie James (aka Cyclops). I’m sure I had a note of the address somewhere, but can’t find it now.
Thanks mc_rapper67. Along with 9d, I had marked 4d and 23d as favourites because of the chuckling they generated.
For 6d I realise I’d misparsed TIES as being royal links or relationships and had ignored “draws” in the clue. Thanks also to Cyclops.